My daughters deposition lasted 7 hours, Is this normal???

[Incognito]

She lives in California and I in Texas.


There are 3 different vehicles involved in my daughters accident 2 years ago.

Yesterday was her deposition. They pounded on her for 7 hours and it sounded like a shark feeding frenzy. Her attorney was not very good at protecting her so it seems and he even made some comments that seemed like he was working against her.

After the deposition she over heard the other attorneys saying it could go to mediation.
I have advised her to get ahold of everything to read on depositions, mediations and come here.

I gave her a link to learn about mediation.

They were circling and the wagon so to speak. It was more like an old or war tactic interrogation where they are trying to say things in a condescending way and double questions from two attorneys at a time. They were trying to get the answers they wanted by ganging up on her and trying to triggering confusion and elicit inaccuracies in her responses.

They asked her very personal questions that were not even pertaining to the accidents.
She accidentally said her brother was in prison in response to a line of questioning. They asked her what for she said that was personal and a private family matter and did not tell them. These are along the lines of questionings they were doing. Trying to break her down, to wear her down, to make her say things that were not true.

They asked her who her best friend was too. She said my Mom. They are jerks.

She thinks only a couple of things were not accurate. She needs support and hopefully will join here today.

She is in California and we live in Texas.

What would be a tips for her to do next since she has a unresponsive and lazy attorney.


CaliforniaWhat is the name of your state?

 

[VeronicaLodge]

depositions can go on for days, they go as long as needed.

 

[justalayman]

yes they can but it does sound like her attorney has no idea what he is doing, at least based on what you posted.

were you actually at the deposition? If not, remember, what youar hearing is what your daughter told you based upon how she felt.

A depo is normally not a free for all get in your face interrogation. If it becomes that, her attorney should have stopped it right then and there. Due to the control each party has over themselves in a depostion, it can be calmer that the actual trial. If things get too wild, you bring an end to the thing until all parties can calm themselves. In court, the judge will control things but even then, yelling is not going to happen.

as to what to do because of her attorney? depends. she should sit down with her attorney and ask him/her why s/he did not control things in the deposition. It may be too late to change attorneys at this point and not cause a problem but that is something we cannot tell you from here. I would not raise hell with the attorney to the point of causing animosity. Not that they would intentionally slack off, it does change a person mind set and their actions can reflect that mindset.

I do have a question about something you posted though:

They asked her who her best friend was too. She said my Mom. They are jerks.

why would her admitting that be reason to call them jerks. I think a mom would be honored to be her daughters best friend and vice versa.

 

[las365]

depositions can go on for days, they go as long as needed.

I don't know about California, but in Texas depositions are generally limited to six hours. It isn't uncommon for them to run over by agreement of the parties, though.

Surely all of the questioning could not have been about irrelevant personal issues. And just so you know, some personal questions are aimed at seeking information about the credibility of the witness. It's part of the lawyer's job.

Did your daughter cause the accident? Is she represented by an attorney hired to defend her by her insurance carrier? If so, she has the right to get her own attorney. She may have to pay him or her herself, or in some circumstances she may be able to get the carrier to pay the attorney of her choice (not often, though). If the damages of the injured parties are close to or exceed her policy limit, she may wish to get her own attorney just to make sure that her interests are being protected as well as those of her insurance carrier.

 

[Incognito]

I appreciate your logical response. No, there were other personal questions they begin to ask her. Just one of the questions was, who is her best friend. I called them jerks because I could see from what my daughter was saying they were trying to do everything they could to wear her down. They did not ask any questions about the accident until 6 hours into the deposition, 3pm that day. This is a way of beating her down. Yes, her attorney did not stop a few questions and she felt left all alone even with her attorney sitting there.

I wish I could have been there..... I think it was a gross way to do a deposition. There were 3 attorneys that were grilling her. There were 3 other cars involved so she had to sue them too. Having 3 sharks circling their prey, can you imagine how you would feel.

Thank you

yes they can but it does sound like her attorney has no idea what he is doing, at least based on what you posted.

were you actually at the deposition? If not, remember, what youar hearing is what your daughter told you based upon how she felt.

A depo is normally not a free for all get in your face interrogation. If it becomes that, her attorney should have stopped it right then and there. Due to the control each party has over themselves in a depostion, it can be calmer that the actual trial. If things get too wild, you bring an end to the thing until all parties can calm themselves. In court, the judge will control things but even then, yelling is not going to happen.

as to what to do because of her attorney? depends. she should sit down with her attorney and ask him/her why s/he did not control things in the deposition. It may be too late to change attorneys at this point and not cause a problem but that is something we cannot tell you from here. I would not raise hell with the attorney to the point of causing animosity. Not that they would intentionally slack off, it does change a person mind set and their actions can reflect that mindset.

I do have a question about something you posted though:

why would her admitting that be reason to call them jerks. I think a mom would be honored to be her daughters best friend and vice versa.

 

[Incognito]

no she did not cause the accident. She was t-boned and the person behind her rear ended her.

She got a lot of soft tissue damage and it will be 2 years this June. She still is having trouble but as we all know it takes time for a body to heal.

I don't know about California, but in Texas depositions are generally limited to six hours. It isn't uncommon for them to run over by agreement of the parties, though.

Surely all of the questioning could not have been about irrelevant personal issues. And just so you know, some personal questions are aimed at seeking information about the credibility of the witness. It's part of the lawyer's job.

Did your daughter cause the accident? Is she represented by an attorney hired to defend her by her insurance carrier? If so, she has the right to get her own attorney. She may have to pay him or her herself, or in some circumstances she may be able to get the carrier to pay the attorney of her choice (not often, though). If the damages of the injured parties are close to or exceed her policy limit, she may wish to get her own attorney just to make sure that her interests are being protected as well as those of her insurance carrier.