Re: Deposition

You can refuse, but the Plaintiff's attorney will then subpoena you and you will have to appear for the deposition anyway. Further, by refusing, you could put yourself on the radar of the Plaintiff's attorney.

That being said, without knowing what type of case it is, do not fool yourself into thinking that you are just giving a deposition. Depending upon the type of case it is you could be auditioning for the lawsuit. I am not saying this to scare you, but many times Plaintiff's Attorneys will set physicians who may become targets for litigation for trial to get their testimony locked down before initiating litigation. So if this is a possible case where you remotely think that you could become a party to the litigation, I would highly recommend that you retain personal counsel to accompany you to your deposition and to help you prepare for your deposition.

Many times your personal counsel can contact the Plaintiffs' attorney on your behalf to find out what is going on and if you may possibly be a target. The retention of personal counsel to help prepare you for and attend your deposition is a small price to for piece of mind. That being said, having personal counsel does not guarantee you will not be sued,but does insure that you will be better prepared for your deposition and will have an attorney their to protect you, as neither the Plaintiff's Attorney nor the Defendant's Attorney are at these depositions to protect your interests.

If you would like to discuss your specific case, further or discuss personal counsel representation, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Re: Deposition

No.

What would happen if people just refused to testify? Would you want the person who saw someone run a red light and hit you testify to what he saw? Do you think he should be able to refuse and cause you to lose your case?