Creating A Solid Defense

If you have to give a deposition for your personal injury case, you are entitled under the law to read the deposition before you sign off on it. When you give a deposition, a court report records everything that is said. When the deposition is over, you are required to sign off on the deposition. Here are three reasons why you need to read the deposition before you put your signature on it. 

#1 Catch Errors You Made

The first reason why you should read over your transcript from the deposition is to ensure that you did not make any mistakes when you were testifying. It is important that everything you said was true and accurate because you were under oath.

It is easy to let your nerves get the best of you and mix up a date, number, or fact when you are testifying. By reading over the deposition, you have chance to make sure that you didn't mix anything up. If you find an incorrect date, number, or fact, you can correct the information on the errata sheet. 

You can also examine your answers and make sure that you did not omit any important information. If you find an incomplete answer, you can elaborate on the errata sheet. 

Reading over your depositions is a great way to ensure that you don't accidentally provide misinformation that could get your case thrown out or compromised. 

#2 Catch Errors Court Reporters Made

The second reason you need to read over the deposition transcript is because, even though the court reporter is a trained professional, they still may make a mistake. For example, it could be easy for a court reporter to write down a word that sounded similar to the one you actually said or to write down a similar sounding number or date. 

Read the transcript carefully for signs of any errors that could have been made by the court reporter; if you find any, you are going to need to correct these errors on the transcript itself and on the errata sheet. Reading out loud is a good strategy for catching these types of mistakes. 

You should always read over the deposition carefully to protect your case by making sure that no errors were made by either the court reporter or yourself. Once you sign your name to the deposition, you are authenticating and verifying that all the answers you provided were true and that all the words were recorded as written. This is your one chance to correct any errors or mistakes and protect the integrity of your case. For more information about how to make sure your deposition is accurate, talk an attorney like those at Gilbert, Blaszcyk & Milburn LLP.