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This is a packet I created to help clients prepare for their depositions. After
the initial letter, there are two other lawyer's preparation letters (used with their
permission), a sample of the questions I ask during a deposition, and several pages of a
deposition from a Plaintiff who ignored this advice. This package would also contain
a copy of the client's answer's to Interrogatories, Admissions, and Production of
Documents.
Date
Client
Address
City, State Zip
RE: Your Deposition
Dear Client,
Your oral deposition has been scheduled. Your deposition will be taken on someday,
month day, year at 10:00 a.m. It will be at the offices of Lawyer X. If you need
directions, my office will provide them at your meeting with us. My office has established
a meeting at my office to prepare for this deposition on someday, month day, year at 3:00
p.m. If, for some reason you cannot make this appointment, please contact my office
immediately to schedule another appointment.
Because your oral deposition is important, I am providing you with a large amount of
information so you can prepare. This information has been developed with the understanding
that you will study it and prepare for our meeting. This deposition may be the
deciding factor in your case. At this oral deposition, you will be asked
questions, under oath, and the questions and answers will be recorded. You may purchase a
copy and it is highly recommended that you do so. Many times, whether or not your case
will go to trial and how much money the other side is willing to offer, depends on how you
appear at your deposition. Please take the time to read your answers to your
interrogatories, study the documents produced, the police reports, and the admissions.
Take a look at the sample deposition questions. These should give you an idea of how the
questions about the accident may go. Finally, take a look at the eight pages from an
actual deposition which I have also included. This person did not prepare for her
deposition and it shows. Do you believe the answers provided? Neither did the other
attorney. This person received a very low offer for his case and did not do well at trial.
Remember these basic rules:
1. Tell the truth. No fudging, no shading, no exceptions to this rule.
2. Your testimony is extremely important to the case. Remember, what may seem obvious
to you may be revelation to the lawyer deposing you. You must take the deposition
seriously and be prepared.
3. This is serious business. No chit-chat or small talk with the other lawyer. No
sarcasm, no facetious remarks. The cold transcribed record will not get the joke and it
will reflect badly on your testimony. Remember: No matter what, no matter how nice he or
she may seem, the other lawyer is not your friend.
4. Listen to the question. Take your time. Make sure you understand before you answer.
If there is any part of it you do not understand, say so, and ask the attorney to repeat
or rephrase it so you understand what you are answering.
5. Answer the question – not some other question – just the question you are
asked. Say no more than is necessary to answer the question asked. Do not volunteer extra
information or explanations. In other words, you should say as little as possible to
answer the question, if you can answer it yes or no, do so without explanation. If the
other attorney wants more information, let him ask follow up questions, do not volunteer.
If you must explain, give out as little information as possible.
6. Do not guess. If you do not know the answer, say so. If you do not remember the
answer, say so. It is your job to give the answers you know – not to speculate about
the answers you do not know. It is okay not to know or remember every detail or date. But
if you answer, that is the answer that will follow you throughout this lawsuit. Answer
only what you know.
7. You are the witness – not the lawyer. Do not argue with the lawyer for the
other side. Do not object. Do not try to sell the case. Just answer the questions.
8. Watch out for questions that paraphrase your answers. A lot of times the lawyer may
take your ideas and put them in other words – changing your meaning in ways that you
might not catch at the time. If the lawyer asks if his paraphrasing is accurate, you are
entitled to say that you would rather stand on your answer and stick with the way you put
it. Do not allow the other lawyer to paraphrase your answer.
9. Beware of absolutes. Watch out for questions that use the words always and never.
Remember, do not ever answer "absolutely!"
10. If asked, admit preparing for the deposition. There is nothing wrong in going over
your testimony in advance.
11. If I (or the attorney from my office) object(s) – listen. If you are talking
when I object, stop talking at once. An objection is a danger signal. It says you should
put your mouth in the low gear and move your brain into high gear. Even if you think you
heard and understood the question before the objection, ask to hear it again.
12. Neither I, nor any other attorney from my office is allowed to interfere with the
other lawyers questioning of you. This means that we may occasionally object, but we are
normally not allowed to say anything, nor do anything to affect your answers.
13. If you think you have made a mistake in your testimony, let me know before the
deposition is over. We will fix it. Mistakes cannot correct themselves. Make sure that you
ask for a brief break, and then explain the mistake to me.
14. If you get tired, ask for break. If you need to go to the bathroom or to get cup of
coffee, say so. And if you start to get argumentative or talkative – which is natural
when you get tired – I will ask for break myself. You can also ask for break to talk
to me or the attorney from my office. This is the time to fix any mistakes.
15. Finally, what to wear to the deposition. Part of what is happening at the
deposition is the other side’s attorney sizing you up and determining how believable
you are. If you dress down for the deposition, your believability goes down, and so does
the amount of money that may be offered. So, dress up for your deposition. If you have a
suit, wear it, the lawyers will be wearing their suit and so, most likely, will the Court
Reporter. If you do not have a suit, for men, wear a white shirt, tie, and slacks; for
women, wear a nice blouse and either a nice skirt or slacks. These are the
"uniforms" of the court. The key is to make yourself look trustworthy and
believable.
Once again, please take the time to go over this information before you come to our
office. The better prepared you are for our meeting, the better we can prepare you for
your deposition. The better prepared you are for your deposition, the more likely this
case will settle and the more you will get. And, if the case does eventually go to trial,
the better you will sound to a jury. (Please remember, if this case does go to trial, we
will definitely need to order a copy of your deposition.) I cannot stress enough to you
how important this deposition is to your case.
Thank you for your kind attention to this matter,
Very
truly yours,
by:
________________
Frank
J. Kautz, II
Attorney
at Law
FJK,II/mpc
________________________________________________________________________________
Preparing for Your Deposition
How to have your deposition taken without making
a fool out of yourself or destroying the case
The standard rule in courtroom direct and cross-examination is "don’t ask a
question unless you already know the answer." Of course, this gives rise to the
question of "if you already know the answer, why ask the question?" and
that’s a valid thing to ask.
You see, it the lawyer’s responsibility to have his or her client’s case
presented to the court in the most believable manner... and that is from the testimony of
independent third persons who are not on the lawyer’s side (like the client, the
client’s mother, etc.).
Therefore, if the lawyer wants ‘strangers’ to testify and say things that are
helpful to the case, it is advisable for that lawyer to find out what the people
testifying know in advance, and how they will answer questions at trial.
Once a lawsuit is filed, the court will allow each side to get some information about
the other side. This process is called "discovery" and usually takes the form of
written Interrogatories (questions sent to the other party), Subpoena Duces Tecem
(requiring the other side to give you documents) – and the thing that we are
concerned with here: oral Depositions, where the lawyer can command anyone who can be
served with proper notice to appear in person and answer questions.
A lawyer preparing a case will usually send the other party a set of written
Interrogatories to discover (among other things) who prospective witnesses could be and
what documents might be helpful. The lawyer then sends out a subpoena for the documents
and also has a process server serve notice on the prospective witnesses (or anyone who the
lawyer believes has helpful information) to appear at an oral Deposition, at which time
the lawyer will question that person in front of a court reporter. Court reporters are
notary publics and qualified to swear witnesses in, so that the witness’
("deponent’s") testimony can be given under oath, under penalty of perjury.
The reporter takes down everything that is said at the deposition and then prepares a
written copy ("transcript") which the person being deposed will be asked to sign
in front of a notary. This "nails down" the witness’ testimony, so as to
avoid changes of memory that might occur between the deposition and the trial.
Remember: when being deposed, you are under oath and must tell the truth! (of course,
you should always tell the truth, but especially so during a deposition). The fact that
the deposition takes place somewhere other than a courtroom (usually a lawyer’s
office) does not detract from the fact that it is still a formal court-ordered proceeding.
Any problems that arise during the deposition may be brought to the attention of a judge
either before the trial (so that the judge can order people to behave differently and
possibly have another deposition taken) or at the time of trial.
Here are some important tips to remember, if you are going to have your deposition
taken:
1) Always tell the truth to the best of your recollection. Don’t worry about
answering that you don’t remember some particular fact. Quite often a deposition or
trial may take place many years after the sued-upon event: no-one is expected to have a
photographic memory of past events. Don’t allow yourself to be intimidated into
answering in an untruthful way that you don’t want to.
2) If you don’t understand a question, don’t hesitate to say that you
don’t and ask that it be repeated or re-asked in a simpler way, so that you can
understand it.
3) Don’t volunteer any information! Answer the question as courteously and briefly
as possible. If a one-word answer ("yes" or "no") will suffice, then
use it.
4) Don’t be a smart aleck! No cute answers. This is a serious part of the lawsuit,
no matter how friendly the person on the other side taking your deposition may appear to
be.
5) Don’t rush your answer. Sometimes the other lawyer will speed up the pace of
the questioning, hoping to lead you to blurt out something that you might not otherwise
wish to mention. Give your attorney the opportunity to object to the question. If the
other lawyer starts to shout or try to intimidate you, just follow you own lawyer’s
instructions: if your lawyer instructs you not to answer, then don’t! As stated
above, if the other attorney isn’t happy, the issue can be brought into court, where
a judge will look at the transcript and issue a ruling, as if the judge was present at the
deposition. And remember, anyone who testifies differently in court than they did in
written Interrogatories or at an oral Deposition runs the risk of having their prior
inconsistency being rubbed right in their nose as they sit there on the witness stand. The
other attorney will point out to the court (judge, jury, etc.) that you’ve changed
your story - and you may be made out to look like a liar. Worse than that, you also run
the risk of being charged with the crime of perjury. This is rarely done, but it does
happen (Mark Fuhrman, for example, during the O.J. Simpson criminal trial).
Used with the permission of the Author, Gene Grossman, Esq. - Magic Lamp
Productions. Mr. Grossman also prepared a video tape on having your deposition taken. It
costs $39.99 and you can order it from his website www.videopage.com/depo.htm.
__________________________________________________________________________
By Attorney James A. Pitts
Schoone, Leuck, Kelley, Pitts & Knurr, S.C.
6800 Washington Avenue, P.O. Box 085600
Racine, WI 53408-5600
Phone: 262-886-8240 - Fax: 262-886-5562
Preparing for the Plaintiff’s Deposition
Your deposition is not your opportunity to tell your story, but instead the defense
attorney’s opportunity to obtain what he or she wants, and only what the attorney
wants, from you. Counsel will purposely avoid questions you might want him or her to ask
which you think would enhance your claim. Counsel does not want to hear anything about any
subjects selected by you. Therefore, be as laconic as possible. Answer as many questions
as possible with a yes or no answer, and do not give a narrative unless required.
Never volunteer any information that is not specifically addressed in the question. Do
not tell the examiner where he or she may find the answer, either. At a deposition you
should adopt a defensive posture. This is not your opportunity to tell the whole story. It
is not your day in court. That will come later, at the trial, when your own attorney asks
you questions on direct examination. All you need to do is respond to the questions asked.
If any question is unclear, or you are not sure of the answer, you have the right to
ask for the question to be rephrased or repeated. You should not guess at any answer. You
may add to your answer by saying: "To the best of my recollection . . .", or
"At this time . . ." or "I cannot be certain, but . . . ." Leave the
door open for clarification later. If you think of a more accurate answer later in the
deposition, be sure to advise the examiner that you want to return to a previous question
to make your answer more complete. After the deposition, if you realize that you made a
mistake, tell your attorney so he or she can supplement your deposition in the manner
allowed in your jurisdiction.
Be extremely careful about answering questions designed to elicit exact details of an
event, such as times and distances. For example, in motor vehicle accident cases, defense
attorneys are trained to pin down the plaintiff on how many seconds elapsed between the
time the plaintiff first saw the other car and the moment of impact, and how many feet the
vehicles were apart when the other vehicle was first noticed. Defense counsel wants to
give the plaintiff’s answers to these questions to an accident reconstruction expert
who will testify at trial that on the basis of the time and distance estimates by the
plaintiff, the plaintiff was guilty of inattentive driving or lookout, negligent
management and control, or some other violation of the rules of the road. If precise
quantitative estimates are not given, defense counsel’s plan may be foiled. In other
types of cases, questions calling for the plaintiff’s recollection of exact details
of any event are similarly dangerous traps. The plaintiff’s memory of the events
should be reviewed in advance of the deposition. A chronology of events should be outlined
to the extent possible, but speculation or conjecture concerning precise descriptions,
accounts, measurements and time lines should
be avoided at all cost. It is far safer to testify in qualitative, rather than
quantitative terms, such as "a short time," or "a short distance,"
rather than using precise figures. Even approximations can be damaging if not well thought
out in advance. There is nothing wrong with simply stating, "I do not recall."
Defense counsel will have two purposes for taking your deposition. The first is to
obtain the information you will provide on your own behalf at trial, so that counsel is
not surprised by anything and can adequately advise the insurer what you will say.
Remember that the vast majority of cases are settled before trial, so it is in your
interest to answer accurately and completely all questions to the extent that your answers
will aid in the settlement negotiations later. The second purpose is to obtain any
information that might be used to impeach you in the event that the case goes to trial.
Therefore, you should not say anything inconsistent with what is in the medical records,
prior statements, or other utterings. You must assume that competent defense counsel has
or will obtain before trial your complete criminal arrest and conviction record, credit
record, accident claims record, history of motor vehicle accidents, history of
worker’s compensation claims, medical history, hospital record, life, disability and
health insurance applications, civil court record, and any other information obtainable
through public or private sources subject to subpoena. Anything you’ve ever said can
and will be used against
you.
Counsel will cover at least the following topics in some detail:
Biographical facts;
Education;
Employment history;
Physical exertion category of work prior to accident (sedentary, light, medium, heavy
or very heavy);
Skilled or unskilled work history;
Transferable skills learned;
Earnings history, with tax returns;
Prior health and medical history;
Prior social and recreational facts;
Events on day of accident, in great detail;
Conversations with adverse party and witnesses on the scene;
Your role and responsibility for the accident or event, to show contributory
negligence;
Injuries sustained;
Chronological medical history subsequent to day of accident, with treatment by each
physician;
Timetable for acute and chronic stages of your injury;
Prior and subsequent accidents with injuries, if any, of any type (fall down, vehicle,
workers compensation, etc.);
Your view of the nature and extent of disability and impairment of each area of the
body that was involved;
Activities affected, including activities of daily living and recreational activities;
Temporary restrictions imposed by doctors;
Functional capacity evaluations - permanent restrictions imposed by doctors;
Physical exertion category of post-accident work you are capable of doing with
restrictions;
Transferability of skills from work done prior to injury;
Time lost from work, with specific dates;
Work history after accident;
Earnings history after accident,
with tax returns;
How injuries have affected ability to do basic work activities;
How injuries have affected earning capacity;
Future loss of earning capacity;
Bills incurred; and
Future treatment expected.
You should take another look at your medical records. You should have copies already.
You should also take another look at any statement or answers to interrogatories you may
have given.
A typical defense attorney trick is to ask what hurt on a particular doctor visit, such
as at the emergency room, and how you would rate the pain on a scale of 1 - 10. Counsel
will have the chart on the table. If you say at the deposition that your injury was
killing you, and was a 9, but the records say you rated it a 4 on the date of the
accident, counsel will know you are exaggerating and will have some grounds for
impeachment or to call you a liar at trial.
Go over all these points with your attorney well in advance of the deposition so you
are prepared for what lies ahead.
Used with the permission of James A. Pitts, Esquire. Mr. Pitts maintains a website
at www.pittslaw.com and can be reached via e-mail at japitts@pittslaw.com.
____________________________________________________________________
These are the type of questions which we ask when we depose a defendant. Your
deposition will have a very different focus. In your deposition the other attorney will
ask you far more questions about your actions after the accident, your injuries, any
previous accidents, and practically your whole life.
My name is Frank Kautz, I’m an attorney, and I am going to be asking you a series
of questions about an accident that happened and some background information. If you do
not understand any question, for whatever reason, please let me know. If you do not, we
will have to assume that you understood the question. If you are not sure of the answer to
a question, don’t guess. If you need to take a break for any reason, just let me
know.
It is important that you respond verbally for the stenographer. She can only type what
you say, she cannot interpret shrugs, nods, or gestures. She has to take down every word.
To make sure that the record is complete, assume that I am blind and cannot see whatever
it is that you are showing me. Describe everything in as much detail as you can.
Please allow me to finish my questions before you answer them. The Court Reporter can
only take down what you say. She cannot take down what two people are saying at the same
time. Also, by letting me finish my question, you will know exactly what I am asking. I
know that in a normal conversation we would probably finish each others sentences because
we know where the other person is going. Here, we need to be courteous to the Court
Reporter so that she can make an accurate record.
At the end of this statement, a transcript will be made of the questions and answers.
It will be sent to your attorney so that you can review it and read it and sign it. Do you
understand all of this?
Would you please state and spell your full name for the record please?
What is your date of birth?
What is your present address?
Was this your address at the time of the accident? (Get correct address if not)
Does anyone live there with you? Did anyone live with you at the time of the accident?
What is your date of birth?
Your social security number?
Are you employed? (Get all jobs if not ask how he derives his income)
Were you employed at the time of the accident? (If so, where?)
Do you where eyeglasses or contacts? Did you wear them at the time of the accident?
Were you wearing them at the time of the accident? When were they proscribed?
How long have you had a driver’s license? Have you had a license in any state but
Massachusetts? If so, what states?
Did you take a driver’s ed course? (If so where, did you pass)
Please tell me about your education, did you graduate high school (where), did you
graduate college, etc. including degrees and areas of study? Did you go to medical school?
Ok , please tell me do you remember the date of the accident?
What day of the week it was on?
The time of the accident?
Where were you going at the time?
Were you on time or were you late?
Where were you coming from at the time?
Was anyone with you? (Who, name - etc.)
Please tell me what make and model vehicle you were driving?
Was it serviced regularly? How often? Were the brakes ever fixed or repaired? If so,
when and what was wrong with them? How did you pay for repairs?
Was your radio on? Do you remember the song or the station?
Were you on any medication at the time? (What was it and how did it affect you)
Are you on any now? (What was it and how did it affect you)
Were your headlights on?
Could you see the road? What was the visibility like?
Did your vehicle have tinted windows? (If so, were they completely tinted or partially?
How much tinting? Back or front?
Has your insurance company impose a surcharge? Have you appealed it?
Do you realize that in Massachusetts, if the front of your vehicle impacts the rear of
another vehicle that you are considered to be at least 51% at fault?
Have you had any other accidents before this one? (If so when, focus on any in the last
10 years, injuries etc.) Did your insurance company impose a surcharge for them?
Were you cited for this accident? Did you appeal? If yes, were you found responsible?
Have you had any citations since this accident? Did your insurance company impose a
surcharge on those accidents?
Have you had any citations before this accident? (If so when, focus on any in the last
10 years) Did your insurance company impose a surcharge?
Do you recall where the accident happened, what street?
When did you first see the vehicle the plaintiff was driving?
What was the first thing you saw?
What was the plaintiff’s vehicle doing?
Did you see any other traffic? Was there any traffic in the lane beside you? What was
the traffic doing?
Did you sound your horn? Did you warn the plaintiff in any way that you were about to
hit her vehicle? Did anyone else sound a horn or any warnings?
Please tell me, right before the impact, how fast were you going?
How close were you to the Plaintiff’s vehicle?
Did you attempt to stop? If yes, when did you attempt to stop? Did you slide? How far?
How long did it take you to come to a complete stop?
Do you remember the weather?
Was the road defective in any way? Had it snowed? Was the road wet? Icy?
Could you see clearly? Were your windows up or down?
Were your wipers on or off?
Did the rear end of your vehicle impact the front of the plaintiff’s vehicle?
Please draw a picture of the accident showing your car, the plaintiff’s car, and
any other cars around you. (Sign & date the picture and make Exhibit A.)
Please show where your cars ended up. (Have him make a note and initial it.)
Just before impact, where were you looking?
Did you see the vehicle in the rotary?
How fast were you going? How do you know how fast you were going?
Did you have anything to eat or drink in the previous 24 hours? If so, what did you
eat? Where did you eat it? What did you drink? Where did you drink it? If you ate &
drank outside of your home, how did you pay for it?
What part of your vehicle struck the plaintiff’s vehicle?
What part of the plaintiff’s vehicle did you hit?
Were the plaintiff’s headlights on and/or hazard lights on?
Did your air bag deploy?
After the accident what did you do?
What did the plaintiff do?
Did anyone appear to be injured?
Did you see the plaintiff again?
Did anyone else stop to help? Who?
Did you leave the scene of the accident?
How were you dressed? Were you wearing a coat?
Did you speak to anyone about the accident? If so, who?
Who was the first person you reported this accident to?
Did you speak to a police officer? (State or local? Who was he? Was the officer alone?
How many officers were there? Did you know any of the officers?)
Did the officer write a report? Do you have a copy? (If yes, suspend the depo at the
end for 30 days pending this report.)
How did you get the plaintiff’s name?
How were the vehicles removed?
Were there any ambulances?
How did you get home? Or wherever you were going after the accident?
What time was it when you left the accident scene? How do you know?
What time did you arrive at home? Or where ever you went when you left the accident
scene?
Did you report it to your insurance agent? (If so what did you tell him/her and when?)
Did you take any pictures of the car? Did any one? Who?
Did you get the car fixed? How much did it cost?
Do you still have the car? What happened to it?
Introduce complaint, have you seen this complaint marked exhibit B before?
Introduce answer, have you seen this answer marked exhibit C before?
Go through defenses, ask each one and find out if she has any direct knowledge of it.
(Read it)
Please review this accident report marked exhibit D? Is this what you told the officer?
Did you fill out and sign an accident report? (If so, do you have it with you?)
Submit the admissions as exhibit E. Go through.
Submit interrogatories as exhibit F. Go through.
Submit Request for Production of Documents as Exhibit G.
____________________________________________________________
These pages are from an actual deposition. Please take a look at it and see if you
believe this person. This is a person who wasn’t prepared. The value of this
person’s case went way down. If it had gone to trial, this person would have made a
terrible witness and would have been impeached on the stand. Don’t let this happen to
you.
. . . MRI before 1997?
A. I can’t remember
Q. Okay. Do you know what the results of your MRI with Dr. X were?
A. No, I don’t
Q. Do you know whether or not they were normal?
A. I can’t remember
Q. Were you ever told by anybody that you had a small disk herniation
that was seen on the MRI after the car accident?
A. I can’t recall who read the films to me. I can’t recall anything from that
accident
Q. Okay. Somebody read the films to you at some point?
A. Yes
Q. At some point did you become aware that you had a small disk herniation in your
back?
A. Yes
Q. Do you know when that was?
A. No.
Q. Do you know whether or not it was before or after this accident?
A. It was before the slip and fall.
Q. Okay. So, it was -- was it sometime after the car accident but before the slip and
fall?
A. Yes
Q. Okay. Did you treat with anybody else besides Dr. X and Dr. Y and
the physical therapist following the car accident?
A. Just an IME doctor
Q. Who was that?
A. God, I can’t remember. I just was told by letter form from
the insurance company to go to that appointment.
Q. Which insurance company?
A. Z Insurance Company
Q. And where was this doctor1s office located?
A. I want to say Woburn.
Q. Do you remember what road?
A. God, no
Q. And you’re not positive that it was Woburn?
A. I’m not 100 percent, no
Q. Do you know what the results of the IME were?
A. I can’t remember exactly what he said.
Q. Do you remember generally what he said?
A. I don’t remember what he said.
Q. You don’t remember generally what he said?
A. No. I’ve been to so many doctor’s this past year, I
can’t remember which one is which.
Q. Did you treat with anybody else as a result of the injuries
you’re claiming you sustained in the car accident?
A. I didn’t see anybody else, no.
Q. Did you go to a chiropractor?
A. I went to a chiropractor
Q. After the car accident but before the slip and fall?
A. Yes
Q. Who referred you to the chiropractor?
A. Dr. X referred me to a chiropractor, but not this particular one.
He was in my area under my insurance. He -- I don’t recall who he referred me to, but
it was a long distance drive for me. He told me I could find somebody in my area.
Q. So, Dr. Y recommended that you seek chiropractic treatment?
A. Right. He said try it
Q. And you chose your chiropractor?
A. Not my chiropractor. One in my area, my town that I live in that I never saw before.
Q. It was your own chiropractor?
A. Yes.
Q. And who was that?
A. Dr. Z.
Q. How do you spell his last name?
A. Z.
Q. Where is his office?
A. Main Street
Q. What town?
A. Amesbury.
Q. How did you chose him?
A. Yellow Pages.
Q. Did you go and see him?
A. Yes.
Q Did he examine you?
A Yes.
Q Do you know what the results of his examination were?
A. Neck -- neck -- I don’t know the terminology he used. I
can’t remember. It was a lot of medical terminology. My shoulder, middle of my back,
and my leg.
Q. Which leg?
A. Right.
Q. What was wrong with it?
A. Just weak.
Q. Can you describe that for me.
A. Weak.
Q. Did it hurt?
A. Weak on -- how his examination wrote, I don’t know what he
did. Stand on two toes. I don’t know. He just said it was weak, that my right side
was weak.
Q. Did it hurt, your right leg?
A. Hurt, pain, I don’t recall. I can’t -- at that time I
cannot recall in his office what my leg was doing. I cannot recall.
Q. Okay. What did he say about your neck?
A. Strain
Q. How about shoulder?
A. Again, it was medical terminology. I cannot recall.
Q. What about your mid-back?
A. I can’t recall.
Q. Did you treat with Dr. W.
A. Did I treat with him?
Q. Yes.
A. Yes.
Q. How often?
A. Three times a week.
Q. For how long?
A. I can’t recall how long I went.
Q. Was it months?
A. I know it was months.
Q. Was it more or less than six months? And I’m talking about
the time between the car accident and slip and fall right now.
A. I don’t exactly know how long.
Q. And you can’t tell me whether it was more or less than six
months?
A. I can’t. I don’t know how many months. I know it was
more than a month, two. I just don’t know. I don’t know how many
Q. So, you can say it was more than two months?
A. Yes
Q. Other than that, you don’t know?
A. I don’t know
Q. Was it less than a year?
A. Yes, it was less than a year.
Q. So, it was more than two months but less than one year?
A. Yes
Q. Did what did his treatment consist of?
A. Massage therapy, ultrasound, and whatever he -- I don’t know,
manipulate. I don’t know how you put a term on that
Q. Manipulation?
A. I don1t know if that’s what you call it. I’m not sure.
Q. Was he manipulating your spine?
A. Adjustment I guess is what you can call it
Q. Okay. What part of your body was he adjusting?
A. My neck
Q. Was he adjusting your back at all?
A. Upper back. He didn’t touch my lower back.
Q. Was he doing anything to treat your -- as you described it -- weak right leg?
A. Adjustments and ultrasound and massage therapy.
Q. Okay. On what part of your body?
A. The whole right side
Q. Okay. So, what was he doing specifically for your right leg? Same
thing?
A. Yep
Q. Okay
A. Massage
Q. I’m sorry?
A. Massage
Q. He massaged your right leg?
A. He didn’t do it. therapist that I went --
Q. Who was that?
A. At the time I -- I don’t recall her name.
Q. Was she in his office?
A. Yes
Q. Okay. So, she was at the -- is his office called the XYZ Chiropractic Center?
A. Yes.
Q. Was she a licensed therapist?
A. I would assume so.
Q. You don’t know?
A. I never asked for her certificate or asked her if she was
licensed. I just assumed she worked there and she was.
Q. Okay. You didn’t see any license on the wall with her name on
it or anything like that?
A. There could have been, but I never never noticed
Q. Okay. You don’t know her name, even her first name?
A. Oh, God, I can’t remember her first name. I can’t recall.
Q. How often did you see her?
A. It changed. I don’t know. he told me -- I never had
appointments. It’s just when to see him he told me what he doing. I never had
appointments see her or him
Q. Did you see her at least once during the time that you were doing
chiropractic treatment with Dr. U?
A. I believe so.
Q. When you would get massage therapy, was that in addition to Dr.
U’s treatment or would you just do that for the day?
A. Sometimes both and sometimes just massage therapy.
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