What Is the Process of a Deposition Las Vegas Car Accident Court Cases?

Today’s discussion centers on the ground rules for a deposition in Las Vegas injury court cases. A deposition is just a statement under oath. For more information on depositions themselves, please see my previous discussions of them. 
 
Transcript. When a deposition starts, the court reporter will ask you to raise your right hand and affirm under the penalties of perjury, that you will testify to the truth. In a deposition, the court reporter will take down all questions asked and your answers. So, the final product will look like a play. Although the deposition will likely take place in a conference room, you need to be mindful that a deposition is considered an official court proceeding and anything you say will be part of the court record.

Best Testimony. The attorney asking the questions will ask you if you have taken any medication on the day of your deposition and if so, what medications. This question is asked to see if you can give your best testimony, or if the deposition should somehow be re-scheduled. If you are on heavy pain killers on the day of your deposition, it may affect your testimony. At minimum, the attorney taking your deposition, must be entitled to that information.

Information Reviewed. As part of the deposition process, the attorney may ask you what materials you reviewed and with whom you may have spoken to about your upcoming testimony. So, if you reviewed the Traffic Accident Report or spoke with any witnesses prior to your deposition, the opposing attorney would be entitled to know that information. Of course, any conversations you had with your own personal injury attorney would be excluded, as subject to the attorney-client privilege.

Verbal Responses. The person who is taking your deposition, will tell you what are called “admonitions”. These are basically the rules of the road during a deposition. One the first admonitions, is that since the court reporter is typing down all of your answers, your answers must be verbal. So, no nodding of the head or shrugs the shoulders will do in a deposition. If you want to answer affirmatively, you must actually say “yes”. Also, since the court reporter is typing everything down, they cannot take down hand gestures. So, if you want to indicate how much crush damage there was to your car in the accident, instead of using your hands to indicate two feet, you must actually verbally say “two feet”.

Answering Questions. If you do not understand a question, you have the right to ask the attorney to re-phrase the question. However, if you answer a question, then the opposing attorney will have the right to argue that you understood the question.

One Person at a Time. Also, since the court reporter is taking everything down, you must wait for the attorney to finish asking their question before providing your answer. The court reporter can only take down one person at a time. In everyday speech, we have a tendency to anticipate where a question is going and simply jump in and provide the answer, to make the conversation go faster. You must resist this urge during a deposition, as the questioner could take the question in a different direction. But, even if you correctly guessed where the question was going, you must let the court reporter type the question in full, before providing your answer.

Best Estimate. Also, the lawyer asking the questions in a deposition, is entitled to your best estimate of times, dates and distances. However, they do not want you to guess. The classic example of the difference between an ‘estimate’ and a ‘guess’ is that you could ‘estimate’ the length of the table you were sitting at while the deposition is proceeding, but since you had never been to the questioners home, you would be ‘guessing’ as to the length of their dining table.

Breaks. During the deposition process, you are allowed to take as many breaks as you need to use the restroom, or step outside for a break. However, if a question is pending, you must respond to the question before taking a break.

Testimony Changes. A deposition is a statement under oath.  After the deposition is over and the court reporter has provided a typed playbook of the questions and answers, you will be entitled to make any changes you feel are necessary to the transcript. However, if you make any substantive changes, changing your answer from a “yes” to a “no” in response to a question, then the opposing attorney can comment negatively on your credibility at the time of trial. Also, if you change your answer to a question at the time of trial, then the attorney can again say that you were either not being truthful at your deposition or at the trial. So, it is important to answer all questions carefully and honestly at your deposition.

Next time, we will discuss, what to do at an auto accident scene, if the police do not respond.