Energy On The Offensive #047 - Low Speed, Minimal Damage Accident Resulted In A $2M Verdict

Here’s a breakdown of an interesting plaintiff podcast that analyzed a recent trial victory.

Case: Commercial vehicle crashed into plaintiff; minimal physical damage done to car. Speed at impact: 8-15 mph. Plaintiff went to ER 2 days later with complaints of pain. Started treatment for pain management 4 months later. $200k in medical bills.

Verdict: $2M

Plaintiff Strategies:
1. Used “judo law” technique: white board all of your case weaknesses and transform them into your strengths. If you can’t do that, you need to settle that case.
2. Hard working, single mom plaintiff; her plan was to “tough out” the injuries and stay working to support her kids, hence the delay in treatment. “We turned this one issue into the biggest strength in the case.”
3. Voir dire question – asked “how many you have “toughed-out” and injury because you didn’t want to miss work or pay medical bills?” Half the jury panel raised their hands. The goal was to normalize it.
4. Opening statement – The medical delays were because she is a tough, strong woman.
5. Experts – defense experts focused on data and studies; plaintiff did use data too but used many crash test visuals to get jury attention. Jurors like pictures/videos way more than data. “This won the case for us; in closing, we asked jurors ‘why would the defense only show you data, but not pictures or videos??’ and it was game over at that point.”
6. “If you learn anything from this podcast, you BETTER have an expert that can use pictures and videos that show how a body, even with a seat belt, moves around a car during a collision.”
7. “Winning these types of cases makes a long-term difference; the defense attorney, who you just mopped the floor with, will now beg their adjusters for more money to settle future cases.”
8. “Win and they quickly figure out who they can pick on and who they can’t.”
9. “A big mistake plaintiff attorneys make is asking way too much in future medicals; we didn’t. We asked for a reasonable package. The pain doc testimony is really the key here.
10. “Life care planners love to throw in everything but the kitchen sink… unless there is some kind of MAJOR surgery needed, you really don’t need a life care planner, and the defense can easily attack it if you use one.”
11. Defense hired an expert re medical bills being too high; we killed their credibility on cross and exposed them as “back office, pencil-pushing secretaries; they really know nothing and just do what they are told.”
12. “Winning starts in voir dire by building up the jury and convincing them how powerful they are; I talk about key cases, like the Ford Pinto cases and Erin Brockovich, to educate them how juries have incredible power and can impact their community and beyond; we literally call them HEROES. It’s true Reptile theory: their decisions will make everyone else safer. Heroes always deliver, so call them heroes.”
13. In every single closing, I end with “if they can do this to my client…they can do this to anybody.”

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