Tips for a Successful Deposition

Before your trial for your personal injury claim, you will be asked to give verbal testimony regarding your experience and knowledge of the case. This is called a deposition, and your Irvine personal injury attorney will be there with you. Your testimony will consist of answering questions put forward by the defense attorney. Your answers will either be recorded by a court reporter, a tape recorder, or both. You will likely be under oath and asked to sign a legal document declaring the truthfulness of your testimony and approving the printed transcript of the deposition. The court reporter will sign the document, as well.

The deposition gives the defense counsel the opportunity to evaluate your behavior and appearance before it faces you in trial. The defense will assess your viability as a witness and how convincing and likable you will appear to the jury. Your Irvine personal injury attorney will help you bolster your case by encouraging you to give an informed, straightforward, and reliable deposition. The typical errors that routinely discredit plaintiffs can be easily eliminated from your deposition by considering some advice from your Irvine personal injury attorney.

Strengthen your case and thwart any attempt made by the defense to discredit you by adhering to a few simple guidelines:

1. Practice responding to questions that might be posed at the deposition with your Irvine personal injury attorney a few times to make sure that your testimony at the deposition corresponds to the testimony you will give in trial.
2. Arrive at your deposition in the proper attire for a formal court proceeding. The defense will draw conclusions about your credibility as a witness based on your dress, attitude, and behavior. Use the deposition to get ready for the trial and dress as you would at a job interview.
3. Make sure that your speech is easy to hear and understand. Refrain from chewing gum. Remain calm and be polite to the defense counsel at all times.
4. All of your answers must be completely honest and factual, even if it leads you to reveal something that seems to weaken your case. The most trivial distortion of the truth may discredit you as a witness and severely diminish the likelihood of a favorable ruling.
5. If you cannot remember a detail of the case with complete certainty, specify exactly which points of the case may be unclear in your memory.

If you are considering filing a personal injury claim, contact experienced Irvine personal injury attorney Samer Habbas for the support you need to face your deposition and trial with confidence. The initial consultation is completely free of charge; simply fill out the form on this page.