CROSS-EXAMINATION

PIERRE BOURGEOIS
Each PLAINTIFF COUNSEL should be prepared to (1) take the DIRECT EXAM of Marie

Terrebonne; (2) take the CROSS EXAM of Pierre Bourgeois; and (3) play the witness MARIE

TERREBONNE (i.e., one or more of you will actually be Marie).

Pierre Bourgeois
Q. Ed Jones is your boss?

A. I work for Ed Jones. Sometimes I work with Levee Construction. Sometimes I work with a

temp service. I just work where I can make me a day at.

Q. The training you received to work in the industry, you've worked on the job?

Q. Now I am going to ask you some questions about an October 2016 accident

on River Road. Do you remember that job?

A. Yes, I remember that job.

Q. Okay. What were you doing as far as work that day? What was your job?

A. Flagging, flagging traffic.

Q. On this day when this wreck happened, was that your first day out on this job?

Q. Okay. How many days had you been out on this job before that day?

Q. is it true you received no instructions from Ed about how you were supposed to flag the

traffic?
Q. Is it true that the last time you flagged on a job was 15

years ago at a previous employer?

A. At Diamond B. That has been a while back.

A. Flagging traffic.

Q. Is it true you never received any formal education as to how to be a flagman & simply learned

from working?

Q. Is it true that your boss, Ed Jones, had forgotten the flags that morning?

Q. And that you ended up using a flag that you made that morning?

Q. Can you tell us what you made your flag with?

Q. So you had about a foot and a half long stick? And you had attached some orange

material that had come off of a vest? Is that right?

Q. What about a vest? Is it true you were not wearing a vest w/ reflective tape

the morning of the accident?

Q. And your gloves, is it true your gloves did not have any reflective tape on

them, either, is that correct?

Q. All right. Tell me when you first saw the Mustang.

A. When I seen the Mustang is when it topped the curve, and that curve was about two or three

football fields.

Q. Away from you?

A. Right.

Q. All right. Tell me what the Mustang did.

A. She was not paying attention when I was flagging. She was bending down; she must have

been dropped her cell phone or something.

Q. A11 right.

A. And then when she raised up, she realtzed it was too late -- Q. Let me back up.

A. Okay.

Q. You said you saw the Mustang coming around the curve?

Q. Okay, okay. Were her windows up on her car?

Q. Did she have her headlights on?

Q. Okay. That spot, whose decision was it for Pierre Bourgeois to be at that location?

Q Somebody told you to be there, or you decided that that was the best place for you to be?

Q. Okay. Tell me about the next accident.

Q. and for the second accident, you were still using the same flag

that you made earlier?

Q. All right. Let's talk about what the weather was like that day.

Q. Describe the fog. Was it heavy fog?. In some spots it was a little

heavy, yeah. FOG FOG FOG

Q. Is it right that you were aware that people drove fast on

Riverroad?
Q. And that you and your boss Mr. Jones discussed the fact

that they drove fast on this road while you were working on

this project?

Q. Okay. Now, after this wreck, did y'all the next day or

later that day, did y'all put some signs out? FIXED SIGNED
Q. Do you remember what they said?

A. Work ahead.

Q. Okay. Who brought the signs? Where did they come from?

A. Ed Jones. He brung the signs

Q. When did he first put those signs out? Did he put it the same day of this accident, or did he

put it the next day?

Q. The next day, did you use that same flag you made, or did Mr. Jones bring the store-bought

flag

Q. What did y'all DO DIFFERENT W/ FLAGGING?

Q. Is it true you have not worked as a flagman since this

incident
 1. Please state your name for the record.
2. Can you please confirm that you're the respondent in the Supreme Court file
#________?
3. You're working as an electrician for Inland Electrical Company, is that correct?
4. Your boss's name is Peter Left?
5. You started working for Peter Left in October 2010?
6. Is it true that Mr. Left sometimes asks you to work on Saturdays?
7. Mr. Left sometimes asks you to work after 5 pm, isn't that right?
8. How often have you worked past 5 pm for Mr. Left in the last three months?
9. How many of these times did you work until after 6:30 pm?
10. Is it true that you've never refused to work the overtime that Mr. Left asked you
to?
11. Is it true that you've never started work as late as 9:30 am?
12. Is it true that you've never finished work as early as 3 pm?
13. The children attend after-school care during the weekdays when they're in your
care, correct?
14. They're often the last children still at after-school care when you arrive to pick
them up, isn't that right?
15. Your cousin, Gwen Smith, sometimes has to pick the children up from after-school
care when you're working late, is that correct?
16. How often in the last two months has your cousin had to pick the children up at
after-school care because of your work schedule?
17. Is it true that you've never left work to take care of a sick child?
18. Is it true that you've never left work to take one of the children to an appointment?
19. You've dropped the children off at school late six times in the month of May 2015,
isn't that correct?

Sample questions for challenging a witness's statement

Here are some examples of questions you could use to challenge a witness's statement.
They're based on Angela and James Smith's case again.

1. In direct examination, you stated that you've only missed parenting time on two
days since your separation in May 2015, correct?
2. You spent three weeks in September 2015 on a business trip in the United States,
is that right?
3. You only saw the children for one week in September, is that right?
4. You missed an entire week of parenting time in September?

Sample questions if you have documents or other evidence to

challenge a witness's statement
If you want to use a document or other evidence to ask a witness about a statement you
think is inconsistent, the document has to be  admitted (accepted) as evidence.
To do this:

 ask the witness to verify the document (that means they have to agree that the
document shows what they said),
 enter it as an exhibit, and
 give a copy to the court clerk.
Here are some examples of questions you could use to show that a witness has been
inconsistent. They're based on the example of Angela and James Smith again.

1. You testified in direct examination that the claimant never offered to give you
make-up parenting time for the time you missed during your business trip in
September 2015, is that true?
2. Do you remember getting an email from the claimant on September 30, 2015,
offering you make-up time for the week you missed while you were away?
3. I am handing you an email dated September 30, 2015, sent from the claimant's
email account. Can you confirm that the email address it was sent to is your email
address? Is the email address it was sent from the email address you use for the
claimant?
4. Please look at the first paragraph of the email and follow along as I read it out
loud. It says "Hello, James. I am emailing to see if you would like to have the
children next weekend to make up some of the time that you missed while you
were away for your business trip." Do you recall receiving this email?
5. This email is followed by a reply email from your email account to the claimant's
email account that says, "I'm busy that weekend. I'll just see them at my regularly
scheduled time," correct?
6. My Lord/My Lady, I'd like to offer this document as the next exhibit.
In this example, the document is an email. See  Using documents as evidence in Supreme
Court  to find out more about what counts as a document and how to use documents as
evidence.

Sample questions to challenge a witness's statement by pointing

out their earlier inconsistent statements
Sometimes a witness might have made a statement in an affidavit or
during discovery  that's inconsistent with something they said later (the two things
contradict each other).

If you want to ask the witness about their inconsistent statement, they have to  verify the
statement first. That means they have to agree that that's what they said.

Here are some examples of questions you could use to show that a witness has been
inconsistent. They're still based on the example of Angela and James Smith.

1. Do you remember making an affidavit on November 7, 2015?

2. Is this the affidavit you swore?
3. You swore it in front of Jack Sayward, a lawyer in Kelowna, correct?
4. You knew when you signed the affidavit that you were swearing that the
information in the affidavit was true?
 5. I'm going to read paragraph 9 of your affidavit out loud. If you can, please read
along with me. It says, "I have never been charged with any offence of any kind."
6. Didn't you testify in direct examination that you're currently in court proceedings
because you were charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on July 15,
2015?

River Road that said trucks entering highway or anything like that, on the day of the accident?

 What is your current address? What are your previous home addresses
over the last 10/15/20 years?
 What is your current job? Do you have an employer or are you self-
employed? What is your current salary? What jobs have you held over
the last 10/15/20 years? What were your reasons for leaving those
jobs? Did you choose to leave or were you terminated? (Especially if
you’re claiming lost wages as part of your personal injury damages, you
can expect to be asked for a lot of details regarding your employment
and income history.)
 What kinds of legal claims or lawsuits have you been involved in in the
past? (This includes any insurance claims, workers' compensation
claims, and any prior lawsuits, even if not injury-related, including
divorces.)
 Have you been convicted of any felonies or misdemeanors?
 What illnesses and injuries have you had over the course of your life?
(Expect to recall every hospital visit, the names of every doctor who has
ever treated you, and other details of your medical history. Answer as
completely as you can, and add "That is all I remember at this time" or
something similar as a disclaimer.)

1. Do you wear eyeglasses?

2. Do you wear contact lenses?
3. Have any difficulty with your hearing?
 4. Ever experience dizziness or blackout?
5. Did you taken any medication within 24 hours before the accident?
6. Did you taken any nonprescription medication?
7. Did you take any illegal drugs within 24 hours before this accident?

Q: Do you wear glasses?

 
Q: Do you wear contact lenses?
 
Q: Have you had any visual tests in the past ten years? If so, when and where?
 
Q: What were the results of those tests?
 
Q: Do you have any visual restrictions on your license?
 
Q: Were you wearing your glasses or contact lenses at the time of the accident?
 
Q: Were you wearing sunglasses at the time of the accident?
Q: Did you give an oral or written statement to the police?
 
Q: What did you tell the police?
 
Q: Did the police issue a ticket or citation to you?

WEATHER:

Weather:
1. What was the weather like on the day of the accident?
2. Did it rain that day?
 3. Did it snow that day?
4. Is there anything about the weather that caused or contributed to the
happening of this accident?

What were the lighting conditions at the time of the accident (day or night; sun out or not)?

1. What side of the street did the impact occur on?

Q: Did you have trouble seeing at the time of the accident?

Q: If so, what did you do to make sure you could see while driving?

1. "Have you ever been deposed or testified in court before?" This is often asked at the
beginning of a deposition. It sounds like an innocent "throwaway" question meant to break the ice and lay
the ground rules for the deposition. However, they will try to use the details of your past testimony
(especially if you made provably-false statements) to attack your credibility as a witness.
2. "Do you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse?" If your lawsuit involves injuries and/or
illnesses you've suffered, the defense may try to suggest that past or present substance abuse is a
predominant cause of your injuries.
3. "Had you used any alcohol or narcotics in the days prior to the accident?" If the defense can
prove that you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the accident occurred, they will
have a much better chance of convincing a jury that you, and not the defendant, were primarily
responsible for your injuries.

Tip: If you don't know the answers to these (or any) questions, don't
guess.
7. Did you speak to the other driver after the accident and, if so, what did each
of you say? Did either of you admit responsibility for causing the accident?
(Remember, be careful what you say at the scene of a car accident.)
8. What happened to your body inside the vehicle when the collision
occurred? Did any part of your body hit any part of the car?
9. What happened after the accident?
10. What physical damage did each car have? 
11. Who were the witnesses to the accident? Who came to the accident
scene?
12. Do you have any photos or diagrams that show the accident scene? (You
may be asked to draw a (non-scale) diagram of the accident scene showing
how the accident happened.)
13. Did you drink any alcohol during the 24 hours before the accident?

Your Injuries and Treatment

Typical car accident deposition questions related to your injuries and

treatment include:
1. What injuries do you claim were caused by this accident?
2. Did you have any health conditions before the accident that you contend
were aggravated (made worse) by the accident?
3. What doctors and other health care providers have you seen for treatment
of your injuries?
4. What symptoms did you have at the scene of the accident? Did you get out
of your car and walk around at the scene?

Typical car accident deposition questions on how the accident happened

include:
1. Time, date, day of week, and location of the traffic accident.
3. What were the weather conditions?
4. What were the traffic conditions?
5. Were there any traffic control devices, such as traffic lights, stop signs,
other signage, lane markings, etc. involved?
How far was the other car from you when you first saw it?

Where was the other car on the roadway at the time?

Where on the roadway did the cars collide?

What areas of the vehicles collided (i.e. driver's side fender, passenger side door)?

Where did the cars come to rest?

1. Duty of care. The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care based on the standards

within the industry or surrounding the situation.

2. Breach of duty of care. The defendant breached, or broke, a duty of care to the plaintiff.

A breach of duty can be any act of negligence, carelessness, recklessness, misconduct, or

intent to harm.

3. Causation. The plaintiff’s road construction accident must be a direct outcome of the

defendant’s breach of duty of care.

4. Damages. The plaintiff must have suffered damages as a result of the accident. Damages

can include physical injuries, mental anguish, medical bills, lost wages, and property

damage.

5. Design of construction zone route that creates hazard by forcing motorists to

make sudden or dangerous maneuvers.
6. Maintenance of construction site route that creates hazard by forcing motorists to
make sudden or dangerous maneuvers.
7. Lack of warning signs or improperly placed warning signs.
8. Directions for detouring through the site not fully visible.
9. Inaccurate warning signs.
10. Placement of signs, barricades or devices in too close a proximity to moving
lanes.
11. Operation of construction equipment that impairs passage of moving vehicles.
12. IX. DEFENDANT – Prior accidents
13. 1. Describe prior automobile accidents by dates, locations2. Circumstances of each3. Who was at
fault for each?4. Did you make claim for PIP or med-pay?5. Did you make claim against
insurance company?6. Was lawsuit filed?7. Disposition of all claims made arising from auto
 accidents8. Was personal injury involved in each – if so, describe injuries9. Was property damage
involved in each – if so, describe10. Who repaired your automobile in each instance11. Have you
had any automobile accidents SINCE this wreck?12. If so, describe: when, where, injuries, at-
fault party, and status13. Ever filed claim for any type of personal injury?14. Ever been a party to
any lawsuit?

1. The witness’s arrest and conviction record.

2. Whether the witness has ever testified in a case before

3. How the witness prepared for the deposition, including what documents
the witness reviewed.

4. (If the witness is not a party) what the opposing party’s lawyer told the
witness before the deposition.

5. (If the witness is a party) whether anyone else was in the meeting when
they met with their lawyer (breaking privilege).

6. The witness’s social network accounts – which ones they have, URLs, etc.

EQUIPMENT – SAFETY

1. Describe all standard working equipment for your job

2. Describe non-functioning equipment in your vehicle

3. What repairs have been made to your vehicle during the past year?

4. What repairs have been made to your vehicle since the wreck which were wreck-related

5. What repairs have been made to your vehicle since the wreck which were NOT wreck-

related?
 6. What maintenance has been performed on your car during the 12 months preceding the

wreck?

7. What maintenance has been performed on your car since the wreck?

8. Were your headlights working at time of wreck?

9. Were your headlights in use at time of wreck?

10. Was your horn in working order at time of wreck?

11. Did you use your horn in the wreck?

12. Were your signal indicators and lights working at the time of the wreck?

13. Did you use your signal indicators and lights?

OTHER OCCUPANTS

1. Name, age and address of other occupants

2. Injuries of other occupants
3. Purpose of passengers being in your vehicle
4. Rushing to appointed destination?
5. Conversations within automobile prior to wreck
6. Each passenger’s location within vehicle
7. Did any passenger interfere with your ability to drive or to pay attention
8. Were seat belts or other restraints in operative order
9. Were seat belts used by all passengers and driver
10. Did any passenger complain about the manner in which you were operating vehicle?
11. How would you describe impact
12. Did you air bag deploy?
13. Did you observe skid marks at scene?
14. Describe damage to plaintiff’s car
15. How far did vehicles travel after impact?
16. When did you contact your insurance company?
17. What did you tell them?
18. Did you give a recorded statement?
19. Did they ask who was at fault?
20. What did you tell them?
21. Did you ever contact the Plaintiff after the wreck?
22. Have you given statement to anyone?
23. Have you ever seen the police report? Do you agree with its contents?

When the defending lawyer makes deposition form objections, he is primarily concerned about the
clarity of the wording. Some examples of more specific grounds for objection to form include:
 1. Compound: When the lawyer asks multiple questions at once (e.g. “Did George stop at the
sign and look both ways before proceeding?”).
2. Asked and answered: The question has already been asked, but the lawyer re-phrases it,
attempting to elicit the desired response.
3. Ambiguous: The phrasing of the question is vague (e.g. “What did they tell you about the
accident?”).
4. Calls for speculation: The witness is asked what they “would have done,” which can lead to
harmful admissions.
5. Misstates testimony: The question includes an inaccurate representation.
If the defending lawyer does not object to the form of a question during the deposition, the
same objection to form is waived during future proceedings, including trial.

OBJECTION: RELEVANCY
A lawyer may attempt to object to the relevance of a question if it is clearly off-topic. Irrelevant
questions can be harmful to a witness testimony as they may serve to emotionally provoke the
witness or reflect negatively on the witness’s character.
The relevancy objection is quite subjective, especially during the deposition. Questions are
considered relevant as long as they can reasonably lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. As
such, the definition of relevancy is broader during a deposition compared to during a trial.  Further,
many courts do not allow objections as to relevancy during a deposition unless the question is
intended to embarrass or harass the witness.
OBJECTION: PRIVILEGE
An objection based on privilege invokes the legal protections set in place by common law or
statutory privilege. This is usually the only time a lawyer can instruct the witness not to respond to a
question. Common examples of privilege include:
 Spousal Privilege: Spouses have the right to not testify against each other.
 Attorney-Client Privilege: Clients have the right to communicate freely with their attorney
without fear of repercussions.
 Fifth Amendment: The Fifth Amendment privilege is when the witness’s response to a
question could reveal self-incriminating evidence.
 Doctor-Patient: Information shared between a patient and their treating physician cannot be
used against the patient in legal proceedings.