0:00

So the next phase, uh, typically in the litigation process

0:05

is that your attorney will file something called an answer,

0:08

which is basically your defense response to the complaint

0:13

that being the allegations of negligence against you.

0:17

And it's, it's pretty much a proforma thing,

0:20

but they will need to talk with you in order to get

0:22

that document together.

0:23

It must be filed within pretty strict deadlines.

0:27

Um, and so they'll go through it with you.

0:29

And generally the upshot is that all allegations

0:32

of negligence against you will be denied in

0:35

this, in this answer.

0:37

And then that's where we move forward

0:40

to the discovery phase.

0:42

And the discovery phase is the most

0:44

lengthy phase in the litigation process.

0:47

It usually is months and months.

0:49

And, uh, this is the time, you know,

0:52

when a trial date gets set,

0:53

and then deadlines are set based off that in terms

0:56

of when all of the physical evidence has to be gathered,

1:00

meaning all medical records, this is

1:02

where your attorney's coming in and demanding these records

1:06

or that records or this information from the plaintiff,

1:10

financial documents, those types of things.

1:12

And this is where we, on the plaintiff's side,

1:15

are gathering information about you.

1:17

And if there are other defendants in the case,

1:19

we're gathering information, um, regarding, you know,

1:23

our client and, and in terms of making the damages case.

1:27

And you typically kind of are,

1:29

are kept apprised of all of this.

1:32

Um, the other thing that starts

1:34

to happen if it hasn't already happened is the hiring

1:38

of expert witnesses.

1:39

Now, as plaintiff's counsel,

1:41

I pretty much have my expert set at this point.

1:43

Your attorney, having just become aware of the case,

1:47

will now be starting the process of hiring expert witnesses.

1:50

Um, oftentimes they'll involve you in that process.

1:54

Um, and this is where we're getting all of that together,

1:57

gathering documents, sharing documents,

2:00

and then we get to the point where we start the depositions.

2:05

And typically the way that this works is that we will start

2:09

with the depositions of the parties first, meaning you

2:14

as a defendant and the plaintiff

2:16

and trying to start the foundation or the ground

2:20

or look at the case, what's going on, what is your position,

2:24

what is the, how's the plaintiff doing from a physical

2:26

or emotional standpoint?

2:28

And then from there, once we have that information, we

2:33

exchange the expert opinions typically in written form.

2:37

And from there we move on to the depositions

2:39

of the expert witnesses.

2:41

And this is where, in my opinion, uh, this,

2:45

this is the most crucial stage of litigation

2:49

because cases are won

2:50

and lost in large part during expert depositions.

2:55

Um, I, I, you know, I tell people that I, you know,

2:58

I take, uh, about 2% of the cases that I review,

3:02

and we settle about 99% of the cases that we take,

3:06

which means that this discovery phase

3:09

and these depositions are crucial

3:11

and it is not uncommon, um, to settle a case

3:17

within sometimes a couple of weeks

3:19

of an expert witness's deposition

3:21

because they have made the points that are needed to be made

3:25

and the case is won or lost.

3:27

So that's, uh, we have a separate talk on, uh,

3:30

the deposition process later,

3:32

and we'll get into more of that later.

3:36

But this is, uh, in terms of you, this is the lawyer's,

3:39

my attor, my as a, uh, my opportunity

3:42

as a plaintiff's counsel to ask you questions,

3:47

your knowledge base, ask you personally

3:49

what happened in the events of the lawsuit that are alleged

3:53

to have caused the my client damage.

3:56

What is your side of the story?

3:58

And I'm, I'm chipping away at that.

4:01

Um, and that's, this is my opportunity also to

4:05

evaluate you as a witness.

4:07

In other words, what is my opinion as to

4:10

how you will present to a jury and how likable

4:13

or not, you know, unlikable you may be.

4:16

So this is where it gets into, uh, the, the pieces

4:20

of you being, uh, you know, pleasant, likable, kind

4:23

of biting your tongue when you may just wanna yell at me,

4:26

um, and say, you know, no, this is what happened.

4:30

Keep it together. The jury's gonna like you.

4:33

And so we as attorneys are evaluating all

4:36

of those pieces oftentimes in deciding not only the value

4:39

of the case, whether to move forward

4:41

or not move forward, should it be settled,

4:42

should it not be settled, those types of issues.

4:45

And that's done during this all important deposition

4:48

process.