10 Tips on Mining Fact Witness Deposition Transcripts in Forensic Investigations

Fact witness deposition testimony is one of many informational resources available to forensic liability experts in revealing the facts that will guide their investigation and be relied upon in expressing public statements, expert opinions, and expert testimony. However, mining fact witness deposition transcripts for relevant facts can be challenging, and may lead some experts to either dismiss, ignore, or overlook important facts. The consequence of working with incomplete facts may adversely impact an investigation and undermine an expert’s credibility. This paper surveyed approximately 20,000 pages of fact witness deposition transcripts from more than 200 depositions in more than 75 lawsuits in liability and personal injury matters. The results of this survey demystify the transcripts by offering familiarity with the deposition process and providing 10 tips on mining fact witness deposition transcripts. The 10 tips are: (1) request for the transcripts, exhibits, and errata; (2) navigating the transcripts; (3) breaking down the incident-related facts; (4) attentiveness to key words; (5) attentiveness to volunteered information; (6) attentiveness to false and misleading information; (7) attentiveness to corrections in testimony; (8) attentiveness to other relevant documents; (9) attentiveness to questions that can educate the expert; and (10) attentiveness to authenticated photographic exhibits. These tips benefit both seasoned experts, who may only have a limited working knowledge of deposition transcripts, and novice experts, while also providing retaining attorneys with insights into the forensic investigation process.