At a deposition, the defendant’s lawyer hopes to question anyone that might shed some light on the exact nature of the plaintiff’s complaint. Naturally, that particular attorney plans to question the plaintiff. Still, he or she also poses questions to a number of other witnesses.
These 2 witnesses share their perception of what happened at the time of the injury-causing incident.
• The plaintiff: The person that was injured.
• The defendant: The person being sued by the plaintiff.
The defense attorney questions one or more experts.
Each expert has acquired a specialized knowledge in an area that relates to some issue of concern to both of the disputing parties. For instance, if the personal injury case had been triggered by a slip and fall incident, then the testimony might be sought from a contractor and a property manager. On the other hand, if the client’s personal injury lawyer in Mississauga happened to specialize in medical malpractice cases, then the ideal testimony would come from a medical specialist. Support for that specific testimony could come from various doctors and nurses.
Not every specialist deal with a particular medical condition in the same way. Lawyers can take advantage of that fact. The defendant’s attorney has the right to seek testimony from any specialist that is familiar with the condition that was suffered by the plaintiff at the time of the alleged case of medical malpractice. That testimony might offer support to the argument being presented by the defense.
Even if the expert that testifies at the discovery session does not also testify at the trial, his or her comments might be used to develop questions for the other witnesses. Those questions might be used to weaken the strength of the statements made by any of those same witnesses.
If a personal injury case that had been triggered by a car accident were to proceed to a discovery session, the lawyer for the defendant might decide to question an eye witness. By the same token, that defense lawyer might elect to pose questions to someone that had acquired expertise at the reconstruction of accidents.
Sometimes the plaintiff in a personal injury case claims that he or she has lost the opportunity to earn a living in the future. When that is the case, the discovery session might include testimony from an expert in economics. That expert in economics has been identified as someone that knows something about the likely level of salaries in the future. An understanding of the probable salaries in the future can be used to place a value on the earnings that the plaintiff has claimed to have lost. That value can be studied, in order to confirm or deny the plaintiff’s complaint.
