Personal Injury Deposition Illinois: 4 Key Facts

Last Updated: October 25, 2026

A deposition is sworn testimony taken outside a trial. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 206(f) requires the officer to put the witness on oath and to record the testimony. Rule 206(d) limits a discovery deposition to three hours unless all parties stipulate or the court orders a longer examination for good cause. The rule was last amended September 29, 2021, effective October 1, 2021, in the compilation current October 21, 2026.

What the Questions Can Test

735 ILCS 5/2-1116 diminishes damages when the plaintiff’s contributory fault is not more than 50 percent of the proximate cause, and it bars recovery when that share is more than 50 percent. The source is P.A. 103-1053, effective December 20, 2024. The section does not assign fault to one driver because that driver crossed a center line.

If you do not remember a detail, say that you do not remember. A guess that the records later contradict is harder to explain than an honest gap.

Who Must Attend

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 204(a)(3) provides that service of notice is sufficient to require the appearance of a party, or of a person who is currently an officer, director, or employee of a party, and to require production of any documents or tangible things listed in the notice. The rule was amended March 17, 2023, effective immediately. Rule 204(a)(2) requires a deponent to respond to a lawful subpoena of which the deponent has actual knowledge if the fee and mileage have been tendered.

Rule 206(e) lets the deponent, or a party, move to stop or limit an examination conducted in bad faith or in a manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses the deponent. On that demand, the examination is suspended for the time needed to present the motion. Rule 206(h)(5) provides that time spent addressing necessary technology issues at a remote deposition does not count against the three-hour limit.

What the Transcript Records

Illinois Supreme Court Rule 207(a) lets the deponent correct an error in reporting or transcription. The deponent may not otherwise change the form or substance of an answer. The rule was amended January 26, 2023, effective immediately. Rule 212(a) allows a discovery deposition for impeachment, as a party statement under Illinois Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2), under another hearsay exception, for any purpose allowed for an affidavit, and, on the findings that subsection lists, as evidence at trial when the deponent cannot attend. Rule 201(j) provides that a discovery disclosure is not conclusive and may be contradicted by other evidence. A settlement is a separate agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a deposition the trial?

No. It is sworn testimony taken outside the trial. Rule 204(a)(3) makes notice enough to require a party, or a current officer, director, or employee of a party, to appear. A deponent outside that group must respond to a lawful subpoena when the fee and mileage have been tendered.

What if a detail is not remembered?

Say that you do not remember. Do not fill the gap with a guess.

How is a blame question measured?

Section 2-1116 diminishes damages when the person’s own share is not more than 50 percent of the proximate cause, and it bars recovery above that share.

When does section 13-202 require the action to be filed?

735 ILCS 5/13-202 requires the actions it covers to be commenced within 2 years next after the cause of action accrued. That two-year sentence does not cover damages resulting from first-degree murder or a Class X felony when the perpetrator is convicted of that crime. The source is P.A. 99-90, effective January 1, 2016. 735 ILCS 5/13-211(a) lets a person who was under 18 when a cause specified in sections 13-201 through 13-210 accrued bring the action within 2 years after attaining 18. That subsection does not state a general delayed-discovery exception.

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Illinois Injury Case Depositions in Peoria