The defense in your personal injury case will do everything in its power to avoid liability. Even when that’s impossible, they’ll attack your case to try to minimize the damages that they’ll have to pay.
This can leave you feeling like you’re on the defensive throughout much of your case. While that’s understandable, you can’t be overly afraid of the process.
After all, if you’re not assertive and you don’t aggressively advocate for your interests, then you could end up losing out on the recovery that you need and deserve.
But how can you acquire a sense of control over a legal claim that the defense tries to hijack? One way is to be prepared for what they’re going to throw at you, which includes the deposition that they intend to take from you.
Deposition basics
At some point prior to the trial on your personal injury claim, the defense is going to send you a notice of deposition.
This will require you to appear somewhere to give sworn testimony in response to the defense attorney’s question. You must appear at this deposition, otherwise your claim can be torpedoed.
When you show up for your deposition, then, you’ll be placed under oath and be required to answer questions about your accident and your injuries.
The defense has a lot of latitude in the questions they can ask you here, which might leave you feeling nervous.
This pressure can be amplified, too, knowing that this testimony is recorded and will be transcribed, and that the defense attorney can use the deposition against you in court.
How to prepare for your deposition
Although you might be worried about how your deposition will play out, there are tips you can use to more fully prepare and to retain a sense of control in how it plays out. This includes:
- Anticipating questions: You should know where your case is vulnerable. This should give you an idea of where the questioning during your deposition will go. If you can anticipate the lines of questioning that the defense will use, then you can better prepare strong answers.
- Knowing the evidence: Familiarize yourself with any documentation that may come up during your deposition, such as your medical records and accident pictures. By doing so, you won’t be taken by surprise during your deposition and left flat footed when something unexpected comes up.
- Watching a deposition: You can find recorded depositions online. Although no two depositions are the same, watching one can at least give you a better understanding of what they look like and what to expect heading into yours.
- Knowing how to respond: The defense attorney might try to get you riled up during your deposition so that you make a statement that you later come to regret. Don’t let that happen. Instead, take your time to think through your answer before responding to a deposition question, and don’t try to guess when you don’t know the answer to something. Also, only answer the question that’s asked and do so factually and truthfully.
Be prepared for whatever the defense throws at you in your personal injury case
The defense will implement several strategies to try to destroy your personal injury case. That can be stressful to think about as you head into the process, but it shouldn’t paralyze you into inaction.
Instead, you should adequately prepare yourself for whatever is thrown your way so that you can protect your interests as fully as possible and hopefully secure the compensation you need to successfully further your recovery.
