I Forgot to Ask a Question During Pre-Trial Testimony...Can I Bring Witness Back?

I Forgot to Ask a Question During a Deposition in an Accident Case here in New York...Can I Bring the Witness Back? http://www.oginski-law.com/library/Me... NY Medical Malpractice & Personal Injury Trial Lawyer 516-487-8207 Email: [email protected] What happens if I'm questioning a witness during pretrial testimony in an accident case or medical malpractice case or a wrongful death case and now I finish and then remember later on that I forgot to ask the witness one or more questions? Can I bring the witness back to ask more questions? The answer is likely no. During the course of a lawsuit, each side has an opportunity to question witnesses. That opportunity is known as a deposition or an 'examination before trial'. This is a question and answer session, given under oath in an attorney's office. There is also a court reporter present, also known as a stenographer, to record all the questions and all the answers that are given. That information is then compiled together into a booklet known as a transcript. Really good attorneys will come to a deposition with notes in order to keep them on track and focused about what questions must be asked. After doing this for more than 25 years, it is never okay to come in with a list of typewritten questions. Instead, an attorney must be fully familiar with the facts of the case and instead, the better practice is to simply use outlines. When we have gone through all of our notes and obtained all the follow-up questions that we need, we will let our adversary know that we are finished. At that point everyone packs up and goes home. There are some instances, while on the way home, where I will be thinking about the deposition and realize that I could have asked some more follow-up questions on a particular topic. I may not have asked a question that would have been interesting to get the answer to. The reality is that those questions often have little to no significance. Why is that? It's because all of the key questions that I need to have answered I will have asked based upon my outline and my agenda. It is critical that I have all those questions answered during the course of this deposition. An extra question here or there is not going to make a difference since it did not form the basis for my key strategies when questioning this particular witness. There are limited instances when new information comes to light that we did not have at the time of questioning a particular witness in which I could ask the court to compel a witness to return back for additional questioning. However, that is rare. HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF WHEN A WITNESS WOULD BE BROUGHT BACK... If my client undergoes additional significant treatment and now we provide copies of those records to the defense, there is the possibility that they will want to question my client again about the new medical treatment and problems she is having. In that instance, it would be likely that we would have to produce her again for a another deposition. Watch the video to learn more... Here's a cardiac malpractice case where I was able to achieve a $6 million dollar settlement for my client: http://www.oginski-law.com/video/card... Here's a foot surgery case where a Westchester, NY jury awarded my client $1.55 million dollars for her pain and suffering: http://ow.ly/azKg6 To learn more about how medical malpractice cases work in the state of New York, I encourage you to explore my educational website, ‪http://www.oginski-law.com/library/Me.... If you have legal questions, I invite you to pick up the phone and call me at 516-487-8207 or by email at [email protected]. This is what I do every day and I'd be happy to chat with you. Law Office of Gerald Oginski 25 Great Neck Road, Ste. 4 Great Neck, NY 11021 516-487-8207 Email: [email protected]