What comes after a car accident deposition? Part 1

May 22, 2020

What comes after a car accident deposition? Part 1

There are millions of cars on US roads every day, which results in extreme congestion and of course more accidents.What comes after a car accident deposition- Part 1

Those that were unfortunate to be involved in a car accident, need to have an experienced personal injury lawyer on their side to work on getting compensation for their injuries, so they don’t have stress on how the bills will get paid.

Paying the bills should be the last think you need to worry about and instead of that you need to focus that you get the necessary medical attention and put all your energy on getting physically well. With an experienced lawyer, car accident victims can stop worrying about the legal stuff and focus on their recovery.

What exactly is a car accident deposition?

After your file a personal injury claim for your car accident, there is a discovery process and a deposition is an integral part of that process. Through the discovery process, a lawyer from every side asks every side a series of questions for documentation and records. This is actually a really important part of the discover process because it often leads to settlements. Did you know that the majority of civil cases actually settle out of court?

A settlement is something both parties want, because trials can take too long and can be quit costly. However, though discovery, both parties get together to share information and will hopefully be able to negotiate a settlement.

So to put it simple, through deposition, both sides of the car accident get to ask questions to witnesses, experts and victims about what happened. Every deposition has to be recorded, although it’s not a trial.

Depositions are important because it provides your personal injury lawyer the necessary information what happened and what a witness remembers or witness says about the accident and the circumstances.

Unlike trials, depositions are less formal. But, they are recorded by a court reporter, and in case there’s a trial, your statement can be used in the process. Depositions are usually done at an attorney’s office or some other, neutral location.

Questions asked during a deposition are broader, unlike in the courtroom where the questions are quite narrow is cope and specific. Objections to certain questions are allowed, although that might not exempt you from providing an answer. Later on, if the case goes to trial, the judge can strike the question (and answer) out of the record.

Just like in the courtroom during trial, you are also under oath during a deposition, although in a less formal setting.

After a car accident deposition

You should know that there’s no specific path to the process after a car accident claim. However, usually after a deposition, the process will go through several other stages.

Transcripts

The standard procedure of a court reporting program is that the court reporter must record all court sessions and proceedings. This also include the ones that happen outside of a courtroom e.g. depositions. Transcripts of your depositions are important because you can be sure that no one is misquoting you. Furthermore, this allows your personal injury lawyer to review what everyone said and to make sure that they have all the information they need.

Transcripts can sometimes take time, especially if the deposition took too long. So don’t be surprised if your attorney gets the copy of the transcript only weeks after the deposition.

Reviewing the transcript

Once the court recorder completes the transcript, he/she will provide a certified copy to both attorneys. For the next few weeks, both attorneys will carefully review the transcript, checking if your statements are correct and collect additional information they might missed during the deposition.

Medical examination

Car accidents sometimes cause serious injuries. In 2018 nearly 1000 people died in a car accident. Even though not ever car accident has a fatal outcome, but they can significantly impact your life.

Independent medical examination is quite common after a deposition. This is because one side believe that the other side’s doctor is presenting the injuries as more severe than they really are to get a larger sum from the insurance. So getting an independent medical exam is quite common, and it is usually requested by the insurance company.

Evaluation

Once you’re through will all the technicalities, you will need to sit down with your personal injury attorney and discuss your options. Your attorney will tell you whether you case is weak or soli, good or bad, and basically provide a realistic evaluation of your case.

If necessary, the attorney might add additional witnesses to your case.

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