If your personal injury case cannot be settled through a basic demand letter, your attorney will file a formal lawsuit. This triggers the “Discovery” phase of litigation, and the most critical event during discovery is your Deposition. A deposition is a formal question-and-answer session where the defense attorney interrogates you under oath while a court reporter records every word. How you perform in your deposition will directly dictate the size of your final settlement. Here are the five traps the defense will set for you.
1. The Pre-Existing Condition Trap
“Have you ever experienced back pain or seen a chiropractor at any point prior to this crash?”
The defense is looking for any reason to argue that their client did not cause your injuries. If you deny having prior back pain, but they subpoena your medical records and find an old chiropractor visit from five years ago, your credibility is destroyed. Always disclose prior injuries; your attorney can use the “Eggshell Skull Rule” to argue the crash aggravated the old injury, but only if you are honest.
2. The Mechanics of the Crash
“How fast were you going, and exactly how many seconds passed between you seeing my client and the impact?”
Defense attorneys love to trap victims into guessing speeds and distances. If you guess that you were 100 feet away, but physical evidence proves you were only 20 feet away, they will use your inaccurate guess to argue you were speeding or distracted under Florida’s 51% Modified Comparative Negligence law. If you don’t know the exact distance, say “I don’t know.”
3. The “Day in the Life” Trap
“Can you tell me every single physical activity you can no longer do because of this accident?”
This is a memory test. If you list ten things you can’t do, but forget to mention that you can’t pick up your toddler, they will later argue that your inability to pick up your child must not be that serious since you forgot to mention it under oath.
4. The Social Media Ambush
“Are you currently active on Facebook or Instagram?”
If you claim your injuries have left you bedridden and severely depressed, but your public Instagram shows you smiling at a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game three weeks after the crash, the defense attorney will print out that photo and slide it across the table during your deposition. It will instantly destroy your claim for “Mental Anguish.”
5. The Criminal and Litigation History
“Have you ever filed a lawsuit before, or have you ever been convicted of a felony?”
Under Florida evidence rules, prior felonies or crimes involving dishonesty (like fraud) can be used to attack your credibility in front of a jury. You must be completely transparent with your attorney about your past before sitting down for the deposition so they can file motions to block irrelevant history.
Never walk into a deposition without thoroughly reviewing your medical records and calculating the true financial value of your claim using reliable 2026 metrics.