We wanted to provide you with an idea of the types of questions that defense counsel typically asks of our clients during a deposition or sworn testimony under oath in this type of case.
Opposing counsel usually begins with laying out the ground rules for the deposition. Then they begin by asking you personal questions including your name, address, past addresses, your spouse, children and past residential history. Then they will focus on your education and employment history.
Counsel normally spends a lot of time going through a client’s past medical history including whether a client has sustained prior same or similar injuries before their accident date. They will also ask a lot of questions regarding whether or not a client has had a prior workers compensation claim or prior disability. Defense counsel will also inquire as to whether or not you have had any prior accidents whether as a passenger or a driver, prior slip and fall accidents either at work or at home or whether you have ever filed a claim with your insurance company.
They usually spend quite a bit of time talking about your prior medical care and treatments. They will ask you whether you had any prior chiropractic, physical therapy or orthopedic treatment. They will ask you whether you have had any prior illnesses or sicknesses or been diagnosed with prior arthritis or degenerative conditions.
Then they will focus on the incident requesting information such as when the incident occurred and what you remember about the incident. It is important that you focus on discussing five of the key topics regarding your incident including moments before the impact, what happened after, and all the unsafe things the negligent defendant did. Defense counsel typically will only ask one or two questions about the incident so it is important to discuss all five of these topics when given the question “Tell us what happened in your auto accident.”
It is very important that you talk about moments before the incident, what you were doing, the impact and the injuries you sustained. You need to address all of your injuries and damages If you had any discussions with the restaurant employees/managers you need to provide defense counsel with a summary of those conversations and end your discussion with a summary of all of the unsafe things that the restaurant did.
