When a hearing is scheduled in your Workers’ Compensation case, there is a good chance that your deposition will be scheduled as well. At your deposition, the attorney that represents the workers’ compensation insurance company will ask you a lot of questions about your injury. If you have an attorney representing you in your case, that attorney will be there as well and can object to the questions that the insurance company’s attorney asks.
Is a Deposition Important?
A deposition is the opportunity that Georgia law provides for the insurance company to find out about your case. It is a very important part of your case because your answers at a deposition are given under oath.
This means you will swear to tell the truth before your deposition starts. If you do not tell the truth, the insurance company’s attorney will use those answers against you in court.
This could cause the judge not to believe you. If the judge does not believe you, you will probably lose your case. So, you want to make sure that you are prepared for your deposition.
Do I Have to Hire an Attorney for my Deposition?
You do not have to have an attorney to go to court. You also do not have to have an attorney to go through a deposition.
However, it is important to understand that depositions and workers’ compensation court are tricky. In your deposition, there are special rules regarding the questions that the insurance company’s attorney can ask. Attorneys are familiar with those rules.
The rules regarding depositions are currently found in the discovery portion of the Georgia Civil Practice Act. If you are not familiar with those rules, you will probably find yourself at a disadvantage in a deposition. There are also additional special rules that apply when your case goes to court.
Besides knowing the rules about what questions can be asked during a deposition, an attorney can also help prepare you for a deposition by going over some of the most common mistakes that people make. I believe that preparation gives you the best chance to succeed in your case.
The insurance company will often try to get information at your deposition to convince the judge in your case that you should not be believed. For example, attorneys representing insurance companies know that most injured workers fail to give complete answers to some questions at their depositions. This is usually unintentional, but it is difficult for a judge to know whether it is intentional or not.
Leaving something out can hurt your case because it can look to a judge like you are trying to hide something because you are afraid it will hurt your case. This could cause the judge not to believe you. Once again, if the judge does not believe you will probably lose your case.
