If your company has been sued by someone after a serious car accident, then you need to be proactive and aggressive in building your defense. If you’re not and instead muddle your way through your case, then there’s a good chance that you’ll come out on the losing end, which could prove costly to your company’s profit margins and its reputation. But when the evidence seems stacked against you, it might be tempting to quickly settle the dispute so that you can move on with as little damage as possible. While settling the case may ultimately be in your best interests, you shouldn’t make that decision before first considering all your defense options.
One of the best ways to find areas of attack against a plaintiff’s case is to utilize the deposition to your advantage. You’re probably familiar with this process of taking sworn testimony outside of court prior to trial, but far too many defendants write off the importance of using this discovery tool.
How an aggressive deposition may be advantageous to your case
There are several advantages to taking a deposition of the alleged victim and witnesses to the accident. This includes the following:
- Pinning down statements: Since depositional testimony is given under oath and is recorded, you can really nail down the plaintiff’s account of events, as well as those of key witnesses. This not only gives you a better idea of how they’ll testify at trial, but it also provides you with an opportunity to point out inconsistent details that you can use to attack the credibility and reliability of a witness’s testimony and thus the viability of the plaintiff’s case. So, seek to conduct depositions that are wide in scope and detailed enough to give you evidence with which to work.
- Finding weaknesses: The plaintiff and their attorney might present their case as if its failsafe. But that probably isn’t the case. By conducting depositions, you might find that there are nuanced issues that could jeopardize the viability of the plaintiff’s case. And if you uncover some of these issues, then you’ll be in a stronger position to achieve a favorable result during negotiations or at trial.
- Generating nervousness: Although it occurs outside of court, a deposition is a formal legal process. Since you’ll have a lot of latitude as far as the questions you can ask, you have an opportunity to put the plaintiff on edge. This is particularly true if you can draw out facts that tend to show that the plaintiff made mistakes that could be construed as having contributed to the accident question. If after the deposition the plaintiff feels nervous about the strength of their case, then they’re much more likely to agree to a settlement that’s more favorable to your position.
- Avoiding surprises: At its heart, the deposition is about discovering what information the other side possesses. This helps you uncover information that you otherwise might not have had access to, and it can give a better idea of the arguments that’ll be raised at trial. In total, then, conducting depositions can reduce the risk of being taken by surprise at trial.
There’s a lot that can be done to build an effective personal injury defense. You just have to make sure you’re being comprehensive and aggressive as you build your legal strategy. Otherwise, you could come out on the losing end of your case, which could cause significant damage to your business. If you’re ready to get to work advocating for the outcome that you want, then now is the time to start developing your legal game plan.