Here are some random notes of things I’ve argued in past medical malpractice cases I have tried. Some aren’t as wonderful as I thought they were when I said it, but there may be a thought or two in this collection which might have some benefit for you. The defense seems to be: we did injure her, but we did it very carefully. In all of my years of trying cases I’ve never heard a doctor testify they made a…
Robert Habush is a retired Wisconsin plaintiffs lawyer and a friend I’ve known for years. His record of significant jury verdicts for injured people over the years created a national reputation for him. I thought I would share with you some random excerpts from a quadriplegic case he tried in Wisconsin in 1975 that resulted in a record verdict. Here are a few selections from his argument: Now comes the time to calculate in very cold and impersonal ways what…
We know the importance of presenting our cases as stories to the jury. In 1996 Dr. Daniel Gross published an article in the Trial Diplomacy Journal about it based on Gerry Spence’s defense in the Ruby Ridge trial in Idaho. The article deals with the place of storytelling in the courtroom. It notes that scholars claim that a narrative is the essence of human symbolic activity because humans are characteristically storytellers. The article notes the importance of the timing of…