Shepherding The Client In A Personal Injury, Wrongful Death And Accident Case: Steps Of Guidance From The Start Of The Battle To The End
Deposition Part 5
Of course in the client or plaintiff deposition in a personal injury, wrongful death or accident case, the clients should be encouraged not to lie, elaborate unnecessarily, volunteer information, speculate, or answer something of which they are not sure. If that is necessary, then the client should qualify their answer by saying that “I am not sure” or “I am speculating.” The client needs to be somewhat familiar with the complaint filed on their behalf and their answers to interrogatories and responses to requests for production from the corporate or insurance defense attorney. Again, most of the time, it is best for the client to rely primarily on their Alabama personal injury lawyer, wrongful death lawyer or accident trial lawyer for most of this and not be obligated to go into great detail, but the client does need to be prepared to articulate the basic factual contentions of their case as they know them to be. The client should be prepared to be cordial and respectful of all of the parties involved and to respect the process. Generally, as Alabama personal injury lawyers, wrongful death lawyers and accident trial lawyers, we have found anger or heightened emotion can be detrimental to the deposition, especially if the emotion is not genuine or is exaggerated. With that in mind, the personal injury or accident client must be able to be genuine. Sometimes emotion is just natural. At those times, it is good to take a break. If a client is tired or has been testifying for more than an hour or so, a break is warranted. Like anything else in life, mistakes are more prone when we are tired or have lost our focus.
Appearance is also vital in the client or plaintiff deposition in a personal injury, wrongful death or accident case. The insurance company is going to evaluate that. As, Alabama personal injury lawyers, wrongful death lawyers and accident trial lawyers, we advise clients to dress comfortably. While it is not necessary to wear a suit or a nice dress unless that is what you are most comfortable in, it is important to dress like you take the deposition seriously. Sunglasses, hats, visors, t-shirts, shorts, tank tops, and short skirts should not be worn. Sometimes, clients must give their depositions in a work uniform. The most important thing is to be prepared and for the client to represent who they really are in real life.
Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask your Alabama personal injury, wrongful death or accident trial lawyers legal team for more information.
As Alabama personal injury lawyers, wrongful death lawyers and accident trial lawyers of the Gartlan Injury Law in Dothan, we take great pride in helping people and families stand up to big powerful corporations like insurance companies, and we welcome calls and visits from people who think their insurance company might be attempting to take advantage of them.
Please join us for the part of this series, Mediation
Aaron Gartlan is a graduate of Troy University and the Thomas Goode Jones School of Law who focuses his practice exclusively on representing those injured by the wrongdoing of others. He is member of the National Trial Lawyers Association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. In addition to his legal practice, Aaron teaches Business Law as an adjunct instructor at Troy University’s Sorrell College of Business and serves as a field artillery sergeant in the Alabama National Guard.
