Bodily Injuries: Deposition Checklists

• Author: Leonard Bucklin
• Pages: 359-426

47-1 (Rev. 4, 8/08)

47. Bodily Injury:

Deposition Checklists

When your case involves bodily injury, then

this chapter has the deposition checklists that

you will use, time and time again, as building

blocks for your deposition outline. This chapter

includes not only depositions of the plaintiff

and lay witnesses on damages, but also deposi-

tions of medical record keepers, physicians,

and other medical professionals.

§47.1 Plaintiff or Damages Lay

Witness on Bodily Injury

Damages: Using the

Defendant’s Deposition

Checklist

The following Defendant’s Deposition

Checklist for Bodily Injury is specialized. It is

written to be used for defense counsel’s cross-

examination — at a deposition. This checklist is

structured on the basis of a defense attorney

deposing the injured party regarding his/her

injuries. This checklist outline can also be used

for deposing any lay witness who has knowl-

edge of the bodily injury damages, objective or

subjective, suffered by the plaintiff.

The Defendant’s Deposition Checklist for

Bodily Injury can also be used by defense coun-

sel drafting his/her trial cross-examination.

Many counsel do so, because the comprehen-

sive listing of subjects serves as a checklist of

items that might be discussed at trial. How-

ever, usually, at trial, defense counsel will be

selective on how much examination there will

be regarding personal injury damages. Unlike

a deposition of plaintiff, cross-examination of

plaintiff at trial will focus only on those aspects

of the personal injury in which the defense can

minimize the injury.

This specific form is not designed for plain-

tiff’s counsel to use in deposing, or for trial tes-

timony of, the plaintiff’s own treating doctor.

For that, see our plaintiff’s counsel’s form

which is found later in this chapter.

Plaintiff’s counsel will find his/her best use of

this particular, following defense counsel’s

checklist to be in preparing the client-plaintiff for

deposition damages testimony. Asking the client

plaintiff the questions on this checklist, then cri-

tiquing the answers with the client, will help the

client verbalize more adequately his/her bodily

and mental problems when defense counsel asks

questions on those subjects.

§47.2 Form: Defendant’s Deposition Checklist for Bodily Injury: Deposing the

Plaintiff, or an Injury Damages Lay Witness

1. PERSONAL BACKGROUND

• Get sufficient detail so that you can always have an investigator find this person for surveil-

lance or do a records search regarding this person. If you are likely to have an investigator take

surveillance photos, make notes on physical description of height, weight, color of hair, or any-

thing else that will let an investigator identify which of four people in a group coming out of a

house would probably be this person.

All names ever used

Present and past residences for 10 years

• If plaintiff has rented a residence, get name and address of landlord.

Social security number

Complete marital history

• If there is a previous marriage, get information sufficient to locate the past spouse. Usually a

divorced spouse is quick to tell you the flaws of character or adverse facts of the ex-spouse.

Military history

When

Where

Rank and military occupation

Military serial number

What type of discharge

• If there is military history, ask whether ever hospitalized in the military (and when, where, and

what for). If dishonorably discharged, get all information you can, in the hope of obtaining

records of charges.

For any medical insurance coverage

Medical provider(s) paid by insurer

Name(s) and address(es) of medical insurer(s)

ID number(s)

Medical insurer(s) having any lien(s) in this case

• Obtain and photocopy ID card(s).

Has plaintiff ever

Made claim for personal injury

Been party to lawsuit

Received disability benefits

Applied for life or accident insurance since accident

Applied for worker’s compensation or received it

Applied for unemployment compensation or received it

Been convicted of any criminal offense

Birth date

School and education history

Complete history regarding children

Name(s)

Age(s)

Living in plaintiff’s home

Address(es)

2. REMEDIAL INFORMATION

Employment before accident

When

Position and duties

§47.2 BUILDING TRIAL NOTEBOOKS 47-2

Wages received

When quit and why

Employment at injury date and since then

Employer name and city

Position and duties

Exactly what physical work is done

Any change in work or position since accident

Any time lost from work

Is loss of income claimed?

Whatever the answer to the above, also ask

Has your income gone up or down since being injured

Explain movements of income up or down

Who prepares your income tax returns

• Obtain copies of tax returns.

If plaintiff was still in school when injured

Loss of time

Athletics, dancing and social activities

Special damages

Medical and hospital

Services rendered by others

Property damage

Anything else not covered

3. MEDICAL HISTORY

Bodily defects before accident

Last exam before accident

Family doctor

Any disability

Condition of each area of body injured in the incident

Previous incidents causing injuries, with medical treatment

When and circumstances

Injuries and recovery

Doctors and hospitals

Suit or claim

Previous serious sickness or disease before incident

What

When

Where

Who involved

Treating doctors

47-3 BODILY INJURY: DEPOSITION CHECKLISTS §47.2

(Rev. 4, 8/08)