Your personal injury lawyer can explain that defendants' attorneys may try a variety of tactics to get plaintiffs to say more than they should. Here are a few such tactics that your attorney may warn you about.
Getting the Plaintiff to Loosen Up
Your lawyer may help you prepare for your deposition so that you know what to expect. As a result, you might be tight-lipped at the beginning of the process. However, the defendant’s attorney might help to loosen up the plaintiff by being social with the plaintiff and seeming to interact with him or her in a friendly manner. However, your lawyer can explain that this is merely a strategy to help you put your boundaries down and reveal more information than you should.
Using Open-ended Questions
Your attorney can explain that it is easier for plaintiffs to remember the instructions that their attorney gave them when answering simple “yes” or “no” questions. However, a defendant’s lawyer may use a different strategy by asking open-ended questions. These questions naturally call upon a witness to provide more information than a simple question.
Plaintiff Attorney Strategies
Your attorney will attempt to highlight the possibilities that defendants' attorneys may try to trick the plaintiff. He or she can give you tips about how to get out of particular lines of questioning or how now to volunteer information that may damage you. He or she may give extra tips on paying close attention to the question and answering this question directly without volunteering additional information. Try to create a checklist in your mind of your attorney’s instructions in order to prevent yourself from divulging information that only serves to damage you. Additionally, if there is actually something truly objectionable, he or she may make an objection.
If you would like more information about tricks that defendants' lawyers may play, a personal injury attorney may be able to provide it. Contact the Modesto personal injury lawyers at Rancaño & Rancaño at (916) 884-6554 or complete an online form to set up a confidential consultation.