Rely on your attorney
Consult with your attorney beforehand and have a solid game
plan in place. Your attorney has likely been through many depositions
and should be able to help prepare both your mind and your emotions
about what awaits you in that room. She can't tell you what to say,
beyond being truthful, but she can know the tendencies of the plain-
tiff's attorney and let you know how he handles depositions so you
don't fall into his traps.
Be strong and confident
Understand what the plaintiff's attorney is trying to do. If he's yelling
at you, he's not really angry at you. He doesn't care about you. He's trying
to see if it affects you, if your voice gets weak, if you avert your eyes. He is
looking for anything that might make you seem less trustworthy in front
of the jury. If you can stay in control and ignore his efforts to influence
you, he'll be less likely to attempt mental tricks at trial.
Bring documentation
Juries will believe your written, typed or electronic record more
than they will your verbal testimony. Your best defense to stop some-
one from saying you did or didn't do something is to document that
you did it. But only bring documents requested by the subpoena —
nothing else.
The reason documentation is so important is because juries believe
that, at the time you were charting 2 years ago, you had no reason to
lie. To the jury, your charting is an objective record they can refer-
ence. In many cases, I've seen accurate charting save people from
being found negligent.
Charting can be a double-edged sword, however. It's not a good look
to a jury if your charting is incomplete, inaccurate or says you did some-
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