Deposition Dissection: A Handbook for Doctors Facing Deposition

Susanne Moore, R.N., J.D.

Table of Contents  (Back to book ordering page)

Disclaimer vii
Introduction ix

Chapter 1: Good Doctors Don't Get Sued, Do They? 1
1.1 Understanding the Lawsuit 2
1.2 The Plaintiff's Point of View 5
1.3 The Plaintiff Attorney's Point of View 7
Endnotes 9

Chapter 2: What Can I Expect? 11
2.1 The Lingo and the Process of Litigation 11
2.2 Deposition Truths 16
2.3 Deposition Misconceptions 18
Endnotes 20

Chapter 3: Tools of the Trade 21
3.1 Rules of Deposition: Where and What Are They? 21
3.2 Types of Depositions 23
3.3 Plaintiff's Attorney's Deposition Goals 24
3.4 Your Deposition Goals 29
Endnotes 31

Chapter 4: Dissecting the Deposition 33
4.1 Preliminaries: Your Background 34
4.2 The Four Elements of a Medical Negligence Claim 34
A. Duty 39
B. Breach of the standard of care 39
C. Causation 42
D. Injury 44
4.3 The Changing Face of Expert Testimony 46
4.4 Types of Questioning 48
A. Hypotheticals 48
B. Speculation 50
C. Repetitive questions 51
D. Harassing questions 51
E. Narrative questions 52
F. Manipulation 52
G. Questions with editorialized facts 52
H. Questions forcing you to say "Yes" or "No" 53
I. Compound, ambiguous or vague questions 53
J. Leading questions 54
K. Fishing expedition questions 54
L. Questions to impeach 54
M. Questions regarding what your trial testimony will be 55
N. Vicarious liability questions 57
O. Questions regarding pending or past litigation 57
4.5 Diagrams or Exhibits 57
Endnotes 58

Chapter 5: You Can Control Your Deposition 61
5.1 Demeanor 61
5.2 Nonverbal Communication 64
5.3 Review the Right Documents 65
5.4 Referring to Documents during the Deposition 70
5.5 Taking Care of Yourself 72
5.6 Controlling the Pace 73
5.7 Conclusion 74
Endnotes 74

Chapter 6: Your Attorney's Role 75
6.1 Your Deposition Preparation Meeting 76
6.2 Your Deposition 78
A. Objections 79
B. Privileged matters 83
C. What to bring to your deposition 83
6.3 How Your Case is Defended 84
Endnotes 87

Chapter 7: Technicalities 89
7.1 The Finer Points 89
7.2 What Influences a Jury? 94
7.3 How Will My Deposition Be Used against Me? 95
7.4 Before the Deposition 97
7.5 After the Deposition 99
7.6 Predicting the Future 100
Endnotes 101

Chapter 8: To Settle or Not To Settle 103
8.1 The Factors 103
8.2 Will My Insurance Coverage Be Enough? 106
8.3 Realities of Trial 107
8.4 The Aftermath 108
Endnotes 110

Chapter 9: How to Practice Defensive Medicine 111
Endnotes 117

Chapter 10: Serving as a Witness 119
10.1 Is It Safe? 119
10.2 Serving as an Expert Witness 121
10.3 Handling Cross-examination 123

Chapter 11: Changes In the Law 125
Endnotes 127

Chapter 12: Grand Rounds (Questions and Answers) 129

Appendix A: Checklist 133
Appendix B: Sample Notice of Deposition 135
Appendix C: Deposition Testimony Examples 139
About the Author 151
Index 153

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