A deposition is an important part of the car accident lawsuit process.
In many cases, claims involving car accidents are settled before a lawsuit is ever filed. But when an insurance company refuses to pay a reasonable settlement for the damage caused by their insured, then a lawsuit must be filed — and the legal process begins.
One of the most important parts of the civil legal process is discovery. This is the part of the lawsuit where each side has the opportunity to learn (or discover) facts about the case. This occurs in the pre-trial phase, which is an opportunity for the parties to continue settlement negotiations as they learn the strengths and weaknesses of the other side’s case.
There are many different types of discovery, such as requests for production, where one side asks the other to turn over documents and interrogatories, where one side asks the other to respond to questions in writing, and depositions. A deposition is somewhat like going to court, and can be scary for many people involved in a car accident case. But with your car accident attorney by your side and the proper preparation, a deposition does not have to be stressful.
A deposition usually occurs in a conference room at an attorney’s office. At a deposition, a witness — called a deponent — gives testimony about what he or she knows about the case. This deponent can be almost anyone: a party in the case, a police officer, an eyewitness, a medical professional, a friend, or a family member. Attorneys for both sides are present at the deposition, with the attorney who requested the deposition asking most of the questions. The attorney for the other side usually asks questions after the first attorney is finished. A court reporter is present to record the questions and answers. The court reporter will later provide a written transcript of the deposition to the attorneys. Sometimes, the deposition will be videotaped as well.
Depositions are usually not limited in time, and can last for hours or even days. The purpose of a deposition is to learn new information about the accident that will be valuable to the case. If it is the defendant’s attorney who requested the deposition, he may be trying to find out information that will show that his client wasn’t really at fault for the accident. If it was the plaintiff’s attorney, they may be trying to learn information to bolster her case for compensation. Depositions can be very valuable in this sense, as an experienced car accident attorney can phrase questions in a way to draw out information that will increase — or decrease — the potential value of a case. Hiring a high quality car accident attorney to handle your case makes it more likely that you and your witnesses will not be tripped up during depositions.
Once you have begun the legal process, it is vitally important that you have a skilled car accident attorney on your side to represent you. At the Law Offices of Larry H. Parker, our team of personal injury attorneys has a 95% success rate and has recovered more than $2 billion dollars on behalf of our clients. We work tirelessly on behalf of our clients to help them get the compensation that they deserve for their injuries. Contact our office today at 800-333-0000 or info@larryhparker.com to learn how we can help you if you have been injured in an accident.
