WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO AT YOUR DEPOSITION (PART 1)

The deposition is an important part of your personal injury case, and you should be prepared for it. Even though the deposition is an out of court testimony, you will be speaking under oath, and hence you need to be careful what you say and how you behave.

The deposition mainly serves two purposes. Firstly, through deposition, the opposing side will get to know your version of what happened, and secondly during deposition the defendant’s lawyer will try to catch you lying and try to portray your testimony as unreliable. Here are certain things that you should not do at your deposition.

1) Avoid sarcasm and jokes

Being sarcastic or telling jokes during a deposition will portray that you find the proceedings entertaining and it is all some sort of a game to you. You will not come across as somebody who has been injured, and is suffering from physical and emotional trauma, and undergoing financial difficulties. Rolling your eyes or smirking cynically looks very bad, especially when the deposition is being videotaped, and it can be shown during the trial to the jury. Hence, always maintain a serious demeanor with a calm and pleasant attitude.

2) Avoid angry outbursts

The opposing lawyer will try tactics to make you angry or destabilize your emotions. However, you should remain calm, and respond to accusations with a simple “I did not do that”, instead of angry outbursts like “How dare you accuse me of this.” If the lawyer is being argumentative or confrontational, you should not match his attitude, but rather answer firmly and politely. This the time for you to shine bright and do not be beguiled by the attorney’s tricks.

This is not the time as well to try to intimidate the other side. If you are being accused of being thuggish and you portray this image in the nice setting of this deposition you have just given the other side all the ammo they may ever need. Do not try to stair anyone down.

If you avoid these actions and act professionally it will reveal your power and truthfulness, and such a demeanor can win over the jury to your side, in case the deposition video is shown at trial. You can also refuse to answer an offensive or personal question, by just saying, “I do not want to respond to this question.”