As a personal injury attorney, I represent people in workers compensation and car accident claims throughout Virginia. To recover the maximum amount of money for our clients, we are aggressive in our discovery efforts. Why? Because we want to uncover every fact and document that can help you get the best financial result.
As part of our discovery efforts, we take the deposition of the driver who caused your auto accident. The deposition is my opportunity to ask the defendant driver questions about facts and events related to the car crash while he or she is under oath. The deposition is recorded word-for-word by a court reporter. And in some cases we will have the deposition videotaped.
Below are common questions that every attorney should ask the defendant driver in a car accident case to try to establish negligence and win the case for their client. This is by no means an exhaustive list. It is meant to be a starting point for the defendant driver’s deposition.
If you have any questions, or are looking for legal representation, contact Corey Pollard for a free consultation. We are here to help you recover following an auto accident.
We ask questions about cell phone use to determine if the defendant driver was distracted when he or she hit you. These questions include:
Q: Did you have a cell phone in the car at the time of the accident?
Q: What is your cell phone number?
Q: Who is your cell phone service provider?
Q: Do you have a record of the calls made that day? (If not, we will ask the defendant driver to produce the record at a later date)
We want to know if the defendant driver had or has vision problems affecting his or her ability to operate a motor vehicle safely and to avoid hazards. To find out we ask the following questions:
Q: Do you wear glasses?
Q: Do you wear contact lenses?
Q: Have you had any visual tests in the past ten years? If so, when and where?
Q: What were the results of those tests?
Q: Do you have any visual restrictions on your license?
Q: Were you wearing your glasses or contact lenses at the time of the accident?
Q: Were you wearing sunglasses at the time of the accident?
Q: Has the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles tested your vision and, if so, what were the results?
Many auto accident claims involve conflicting testimony regarding road conditions, weather conditions, and other factors contributing to the crash (red light vs. green light). To identify potential witnesses we ask the following questions.
Q: Did you have any passengers in your car at the time of the accident?
Q: If yes, please provide the name, address and telephone number of that passenger?
Q: What is your relationship with the passenger?
Q: Who witnessed the accident? Please provide their contact information.
Though we can examine the cars, we always ask questions about vehicle damage to ascertain credibility and to try to find additional information that can explain the cause of the crash and the extent of your injuries. For example, we ask:
Q: Was your car damaged?
Q: Describe the damage to your car (where, how bad, etc.)
Q: Do you have photographs of the damage?
Q: Has your car been repaired?
Q: Who repaired it?
Q: How much did it cost to repair?
Q: How many estimates did you get?
Q: Did you have any damage in the same area of the car from another accident? If yes, please describe and tell us about the other accident(s).
Q: Did my client’s car have any damage?
Q: Describe the damage.
Q: Did you take pictures of the damage?
Q: Did you offer to repair the damage?
Police reports and police testimony are helpful in proving causation. Read our article on how to get the police report following a car wreck to get a copy. We ask the following questions to determine whether the defendant driver thought police involvement was necessary (hopefully you read our car accident checklist and called 911) and what reports may exist.
Q: Did you give an oral or written statement to the police?
Q: What did you tell the police?
Q: Did the police issue a ticket or citation to you?
The more information we get about the defendant driver’s perception of the accident, the better prepared we’ll be when negotiating a car insurance settlement or trying your case in court. We ask:
Q: What were the weather conditions at the time of the accident?
Q: What were the lighting conditions at the time of the accident (day or night; sun out or not)?
Q: Did you have trouble seeing at the time of the accident?
Q: If so, what did you do to make sure you could see while driving?
We need additional information when representing a pedestrian struck by a car:
Q: Did you hit my client with your car?
Q: What part of your car hit my client?
Q: Where did you strike my client?
Q: What happened to my client after you struck him (how far did he go through the air)?
Q: Was this the first time you have hit a pedestrian?
Q: Have you received a citation for violating a pedestrian’s right of way before this accident?
Q: Did you see my client before you struck him with your vehicle?
Q: Where did you find my client after you struck him? Describe his injuries?
These are just some of the questions we ask. If you have more questions about an auto accident claim or discovery in personal injury cases, call or email us today. Your consultation is free. And we’re ready to help you recover.