If your case settles with the insurance company before a lawsuit is filed, you will not give a deposition. Most car accident claims resolve that way. If the insurer will not pay a fair amount and a lawsuit is filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, you should expect to be deposed; defense attorneys take the plaintiff’s deposition in nearly every filed case. It is a question and answer session under oath, in a conference room or by video, with your attorney beside you, a court reporter typing, and no judge present. For a typical car accident case it lasts two to four hours.
What decides how a deposition goes is preparation, and preparation means two things. The first is knowing the file: what you told the ER at Northridge Hospital, what the police report says, what your discovery responses said about prior injuries, and what your social media shows. The defense attorney has all of that, and the deposition is largely a test of whether your account matches it. The second is understanding the job, which is to answer the question asked, accurately and briefly, and then stop. Clients who do badly in depositions are rarely lying. They are guessing, volunteering, and trying to win an argument with the lawyer across the table. Clients who do well have spent an hour or two with their attorney going over the records and the rules.
Do I have to give a deposition for a car accident claim?
Not for a claim that settles before a lawsuit. If a lawsuit is filed, yes, almost always. Code of Civil Procedure 2025.010 and the sections that follow give each side the right to depose parties and witnesses. The defense will notice your deposition within a few months of your answer being filed. Your attorney attends, objects to improper questions, and prepares you beforehand. California limits most depositions to seven hours of testimony, and car accident depositions are usually much shorter.
When a deposition happens and when it does not
A claim starts with the insurer. The attorney gathers the medical records and bills, waits for treatment to finish, and sends a demand. If the insurer makes a fair offer, the case settles and there is no deposition. If the insurer’s offer is low or liability is disputed, a complaint is filed, and the case enters discovery. Written questions come first, usually form interrogatories and document requests. The plaintiff’s deposition typically follows, scheduled somewhere between three and nine months after filing. Many cases settle after the deposition, because the defense has now seen the plaintiff and knows what a jury would see.
What it is like
You, your attorney, the defense attorney and a court reporter. Often a videographer. Sometimes the defendant’s insurer sends a representative to watch. It is held at a law office in the Valley or downtown, or increasingly by video. You are sworn in. The defense attorney asks about your background, work, prior injuries, the crash itself, your medical treatment, your symptoms, how the injury has affected your life, and your lost income. Your attorney can object, and can instruct you not to answer a question that invades a privilege, but otherwise you answer. There are breaks whenever you need them.
The transcript becomes a document the defense will quote. A sentence like “I was probably going a little fast” lives in the file forever. So does a sentence like “I had no neck pain at all before this,” if a 2021 chiropractic record says otherwise.
What the defense attorney is looking for
Three things. Inconsistencies between your testimony and the records. Admissions about fault: speed, distraction, where you were looking. And a picture of your damages: how much you are hurt, how convincingly you describe it, and whether you come across as credible. The questions are rarely hostile. The dangerous ones are friendly, open-ended invitations to talk: “Tell me about your day before the accident.” The answer is a few sentences, not a story.
Expect questions on the comparative fault rule issues too: whether you were belted, whether you were on your phone, and whether you had been drinking. Answer accurately. Your attorney already knows what the records say.
How to prepare
Your attorney will meet with you before the deposition and review the police report, your medical records, your discovery responses, and the likely questions. The rules are simple. Listen to the whole question. Pause. Answer only that question. If you do not know, say so; “I don’t know” and “I don’t remember” are complete answers when true. Do not guess at distances, speeds or times. Do not argue. Do not explain unless asked to. If a document is put in front of you, read it before you answer about it. If you need a break, ask.
Bring nothing unless your attorney tells you to. Dress as you would for a job interview. Get sleep the night before.
After the deposition, the court reporter produces a transcript and you have a period to review it and correct errors in transcription. Read it. Substantive changes to your answers are allowed but can be commented on at trial, so the goal is to get the answers right the first time, not to fix them afterward. Your attorney will go through it with you and flag anything the defense is likely to use.
Common mistakes
Estimating speed or distance with false precision. Saying “never” or “always” about prior symptoms. Volunteering information to fill silence. Minimizing the injury out of politeness (“I’m doing okay now”) when the records show ongoing treatment. Exaggerating it. Arguing with the defense attorney about fault. And skipping the preparation session because “I’ll just tell the truth,” which is the goal but not the method.
Questions people ask next
Can I refuse to be deposed? Not once a case is filed. A plaintiff who refuses can have the case dismissed. Your attorney can limit the scope and object to improper questions, and can seek a protective order for a medical reason.
Will the other driver be deposed too? Yes. Your attorney will depose the defendant, and the defendant’s testimony about speed, attention and what they saw is often where the case turns.
Does giving a deposition mean I am going to trial? No. Most filed cases settle after depositions and before trial, often at mediation. The deposition is a step toward settlement in the great majority of files.
Manoukian Law Firm handles car accident cases throughout Los Angeles County, and the attorney, Vaheh Manoukian, personally prepares each client for deposition and sits beside them at it. If your claim may be heading toward a lawsuit, call (818) 818-5031 for a free consultation.
