12 RULES FOR GIVING A DEPOSITION IN A PERSONAL INJURY CASE IN TEXAS

How To Conduct Your Texas Personal Injury Deposition

It’s always common to find a Personal Injury Lawyer in Texas. One of the main components of such a lawsuit involves the claimant giving a disposition. Here are the 12 rules for giving a disposition in a Texas personal injury case.

• Always tell the truth. You should tell the truth in when giving a sworn testimony. If the defense finds any lie in your testimony, they will use it against you. Therefore, if you feel like stretching the truth a little bit, you should avoid doing so at all costs.
• Listen to the question carefully before giving an answer. Don’t anticipate the question but you should listen to exactly what you’re being asked. Don’t stray from the question and only answer what you’re asked.
• Don’t let the attorney tell you what you what to say. Remember, leading questions are always part and parcel of the deposition process. Therefore, if you don’t agree with the leading question or the premise in question, you shouldn’t agree with the testimony.
• Be on the lookout for the continuous yes responses. Many defense attorneys use a technique where they ask a series of truthful questions where they require a simple and concise yes answer. Next, they will sneak in a tricky question hoping that you say yes as you have been doing.
• Avoid guessing if you’re not certain about the answer. You’re allowed to say you don’t know or don’t remember in a deposition. If you can’t remember the date you saw the physician or met with a medical professional, always avoid guessing. Even when the defense attorneys force you to give an answer, you should stick to ‘don’t remember or don’t know.’
• Whenever it’s appropriate you should always qualify your answer. If you’re asked questions that involve every and all, it’s very acceptable to qualify your answers. For instance, you can always say that’s all you remember sitting there and you could refer to your medical records if you’re looking to qualify your answers.
• You should always be careful with distance and time. When you’re estimating the distances or how long something took, you should be careful about it unless you’re very sure of the answer.
• Stick to short answers whenever necessary. Acceptable answers include, I don’t recall, yes and no.
• A deposition isn’t the place to tell your story. You should simply answer the question asked and avoid volunteering more information. If the defense lawyer doesn’t ask the question, you should not volunteer the answer. Keep in mind that every piece of information that you provide will drag the deposition unnecessarily.
• You should be respectful to the attorney. Note that, the attorney is an adversary who is doing his/her best to damage your case. Regardless, you should always be courteous and polite when he/she is asking questions.
• If you don’t understand a question, you should ask for clarification before attempting to answer the question.
• Take all the time you need to answer the question regardless of whether or not the deposition is videotaped. Take time to understand it and once you have given an answer you should give your silence.

You should let the defense attorney ask the next question before saying another word.In simple words, you should always tell the truth. Take time to understand the question before giving your answer. Don’t volunteer any information that you’re not supposed to and also keep your answers concise and short. That way, you can rest assured your deposition is painless and short. Defense attorneys are always waiting for you to slip up and use it against you. Therefore, you shouldn’t give them the smoking gun in the case because they will bury you with it. You should always answer what is asked and nothing more.

source: https://mrpersonalinjurylawyer.com/rules-for-giving-a-deposition