Bodily Injury: Deposition Checklists

• Author: Leonard Bucklin
• Pages: 507-546

47-1

Chapter 47

Bodily Injury: Deposition Checklists

§47.1 Plaintiff or Damages Lay Witness on Bodily Injury Damages: Using the Defendant’s Deposition Checklist

§47.2 Form: Defendant’s Deposition Checklist for Bodily Injury: Deposing the Plaintiff, or an Injury Damages Lay Witness

§47.3 Form Checklist: Personal Injury Plaintiff’s Trial Testimony

§47.4 Plaintiff Should Use Spouse and Friends for Injury Testimony

§47.5 Form Checklist: Testimony of Personal Injury Plaintiff’s Spouse

§47.6 Form: Deposition or Trial Testimony: Parent in Wrongful Death Case

§47.7 Form: Written Deposition, Medical Records Foundation

§47.8 Use of Cross-Questions to Custodian, Regarding Reasonableness of Medical Expense

§47.9 Form: Plaintiff’s Cross-Questions to Medical Custodian, or Reasonableness of Medical Expense

§47.10 Plaintiffs Should Depose Their Own Doctor

§47.11 Plaintiff’s Examination of Treating Doctor: Introduction to the Questions Outline Form

§47.12 Form: Deposition or Trial Checklist — Plaintiff’s Direct Examination of Treating Doctor

§47.13 Form: Deposition Checklist — Defense Examination of Plaintiff’s Treating Doctor

§47.14 Items That You Want the Doctor Being Deposed to Bring to Deposition

§47.15 Form: Notice to Doctor Being Deposed re: What to Bring to Deposition

§47.16 Defendant’s Examination of the Defendant’s IME Doctor at Trial: Introduction to the Questions Outline Form

§47.17 Form: Trial Checklist — Defense Direct Examination of Defense Doctor

§47.18 Plaintiff’s Cross-Examination of Defense Doctor’s Testimony at Trial: Tips on the Suggested Outline

§47.19 Form: Plaintiff’s Cross-Examination of Defense Doctor’s Testimony

§47.20 Plastic Surgeon as Additional Medical Witness

§47.21 The Basics You Need to Know About Scar Revision and Keloids

§47.22 Using the Form for Additional Direct Testimony: Plastic Surgeon

§47.23 Form: Additional Direct Testimony: Plastic Surgeon

§47.2 4 Plaintiff’s Direct Examination of Treating Physical Therapist: Tips on Use and on the Suggested Outline of Testimony

§47.25 Form Checklist: Deposition or Trial Checklist — Direct Examination by Plaintiff of Plaintiff’s Physical Therapist

§47.1 DISCOVERY COLLECTION 47-2

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 depositions of medical record keepers, physicians, and oth-

er 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 knowledge 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 counsel drafting his/her trial cross-examination.

Many counsel do so, because the comprehensive 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 de-

fense can minimize the injury.

This specific form is not designed for plaintiff’s counsel to use in

deposing, or for trial testimony 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, fol-

lowing defense counsel’s checklist to be in preparing the client-plaintiff

for deposition damages testimony. Asking the client plaintiff the ques-

tions on this checklist, then critiquing 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 surveillance or do a records search regard-

ing 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 anything 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 dis-

charged, 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)

47-3 BODILY INJURY: DEPOSITION CHECKLISTS §47.2

2. REMEDIAL INFORMATION

Employment before accident

When

Position and duties

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

Injuries and recoveries

Any other incident or injury after the incident in question

What

When

Where

Who involved

Treating doctors

Injuries and recoveries

Any other sickness or disease after the incident

What

When

Where

Who involved

Treating doctors

Effect of sickness and recovery

4. THE INCIDENT

When plaintiff left the scene

How

With whom