Some time ago I was asked by a lawyer, to help him prepare the damages in a malpractice child case. It involved a delivery where the child had a brachial plexus injury. His concern was presenting the damage case to the jury. This was my advice about how I generally consider damages in a personal injury case. I told him the first thing he should do is rid your mind or consideration of any other verdicts in similar cases involving…
In major damage cases involving minors or people whose injuries require a conservator or guardian, my practice was to have the appointment made at the time the lawsuit was commenced and to call the guardian as a witness at trial to explain their role. I wanted to be able to reassure the jury that any verdict awarded would be protected for the injured client’s benefit. Here’s a rough outline of the general points I try to cover on direct: Qualifications:…
Recently a trial lawyer friend asked me for ideas about handling a case involving a client who had negligently been deprived of sight in one eye and resulting limited vision in the other eye. While one would assume that the damages are obvious, my experience in running focus studies regarding cases like this, was the surprising result that many people didn’t regard visual injury and even blindness as a significant injury. Many people believe that with adaptive devices and other…