Your deposition is probably the single most important part of your lawsuit. It is an opportunity for the lawyers representing the asbestos manufacturers whom you are suing to ask you questions, under oath, about their product. The burden of proof is on you, the plaintiff, to show how you know it was their product you were exposed to. How well you know the name of each product and the details of your exposure to it will determine whether the defendant will want to offer you a settlement.At the deposition, it might help to pretend that you are a "prisoner of war" in an enemy camp where you must give only your "name, rank, and serial number." The defense attorneys may try to make you lose your temper or feel stupid because you have less education than they do. But answer ONLY the question asked and DO NOT VOLUNTEER any information!
THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR
Implications that you are not telling the truth or are mistaken. The questions asked by the defense attorneys are designed to prove that you were NOT exposed to their product. They will try to confuse you and make you think they know something different from what you recall and that what you are saying cannot be true. Keep in mind that those attorneys are very young and WERE NOT PRESENT at the job sites where you worked. They have NO RECORDS to tell them what products were used on a particular job, even if they act as if they do.
Make sure to emphasize that you had no idea that asbestos was dangerous. You will be asked if you ever saw any WARNING labels on containers of asbestos. It is important to maintain that you NEVER saw any labels on asbestos products that had said WARNING or DANGER. You might even be asked to spell "warning" or "danger" to prove that you would know what these words meant if you saw them.
You will be asked if you ever used respiratory equipment to protect you from asbestos. Listen carefully to the question! If you did wear a mask for welding or other fumes, that does NOT mean that you wore it from protection from asbestos! The answer is still "NO!"
You will be asked how much YOU think your lawsuit is worth. Do NOT give an amount. Just say it is up to your attorneys to determine that. Remember, THERE IS NO AMOUNT OF MONEY WORTH YOUR HEALTH! You would rather have your health back than all the money in the world, wouldn't you?
Questions about asbestos products. Do NOT mention product names that are not listed on your Work History Sheets. The defense attorneys will jump at the chance to blame your asbestos exposure on companies that were not sued in your case.
Do NOT say that you saw more of one brand than another, or that one brand was more commonly used than another. At some jobs there may have been more than one brand, and at other jobs there may have been more of another brand, so throughout your career you were probably exposed equally to ALL the brands. Be CONFIDENT that you saw just as much of one brand as the others. All the manufacturers sued in your case should share the blame equally!
Be very careful about using the word "only." The defense attorneys will ask you if the products you have named are the ONLY asbestos products that were at your job sites. Of course they were not! There were lots of other names of pipe covering and insulating cement and gaskets too! You should name all the products YOU RECALL, but be sure to say that there were others too. It is VERY important to say that there were LOTS of other brands and that you just cannot recall ALL the names!
You must be able to pronounce the product names correctly and know WHICH products are pipe covering, WHICH are insulating cements, and WHICH are plastic cements, for instance. Many of the product names sound very similar (Kaylo and Kaytherm, or Raybestos and Unibestos, for instance), but they might be different products entirely! Have a family member quiz you until you know by heart ALL the product names listed on your Work History Sheets.
You may be asked how you were able to recall so many product names. The best answer is to say that you recall having seen the names on the containers or on the product itself, and the more you thought about them, the more you remembered! If the defense attorney asks you if you were shown pictures of the products, wait for your attorney to advise you to answer, then say that a "girl from Baron & Budd" showed you pictures of MANY products and that you picked out the ones you remembered.
If there is a MISTAKE on your Work History Sheets, explain that the "girl from Baron & Budd" must have misunderstood what you told her when she wrote it down. If there has been a CHANGE to your Work History Sheets, explain that you wanted to make the record clear. If you are asked why you certified a first (incorrect) version of your Work History Sheets to be correct and are now saying it is NOT correct, explain that the first Work History Sheet is ALSO correct and that the second version just makes the record MORE CLEAR.
Damages. This part of your deposition is about your health. It is very IMPORTANT that you give concrete examples of how your life has been "damaged" by your exposure to asbestos. Although the answers to questions about your work history and the products you were exposed to should be as SHORT as possible, THIS part of your deposition is YOUR opportunity to state, for the record, why you DESERVE to be compensated for damage to your health caused by asbestos. The defense attorneys will not ask as many questions about your health. It will be up to YOU to give as many examples as you can. For instance:
Do you have trouble sleeping at night because it is difficult to breathe lying down?
Have you lost money by having to refuse overtime, retire early, or take a lower-paying job?
Do you pay someone else to mow your yard? Did you purchase a rider mower because you just couldn't use a push mower any more?
Have you given up or cut down on hunting, fishing, camping, boating, softball, golfing, travel, raising animals, or any other activities you once enjoyed? Name as many as you can think of.
Bring ALL your medications along with you to the deposition so that the court reporter can type the names into the record, even if you don't take the medications regularly.
It is natural to be afraid about how your future will be affected by your health. Your fear is caused in part by health problems you might not have had if you had not been exposed to asbestos. Have you seen or heard about co-workers who have died from asbestos-related disease? Are you afraid that your asbestos disease might develop into cancer?
If you are afraid, YOU MUST SAY SO!
Questions about privileged information. Privileged information includes any and all conversations and written communications you have had with ANYONE at Baron & Budd. The defense attorneys will ask you questions about conversations you have had and documents you have seen. Some examples are:
"Do you have any notes or written material with you today?"
"Has anyone told you what to say or not to say at this deposition?"
DO NOT RESPOND TO THESE QUESTIONS RIGHT AWAY! Your Baron & Budd attorney will object to the question and will probably instruct you not to answer. Make sure that you give your attorney TIME to object before blurting out an answer!
The only documents you should ever refer to in your deposition are your Social Security printout, your Work History Sheets, and photographs of asbestos products you were shown, but ONLY IF YOU ARE ASKED ABOUT THEM AND ONLY IF YOUR BARON & BUDD ATTORNEY INSTRUCTS YOU TO ANSWER! Any other notes, such as what you are reading right now, are "privileged" and should never be mentioned.
[Ed.: In October, 2000, Owens Corning, the top manufacturer of home insulation, filed for bankruptcy under the pressure of numerous asbestos lawsuits, most filed by workers with no significant illness. The previous year, twelve Democratic representatives signed a report declaring that "there is little likelihood that asbestos liability could lead to bankruptcy" for Owens or other big companies, and that "the principal remaining asbestos defendants are not facing any significant threat of bankruptcy." Following Corning's lead, Armstrong World Industries, the largest maker of flooring and another firm in no danger of bankruptcy whatsoever, proceeded to seek protection from creditors in December. And what do you know, W. R. Grace, which fielded 325,000 asbestos injury claims, went out of business in early 2001.]
