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Blog

Taking Your Injury Claim to Trial

April 10, 2018 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

This series aims to give current and potential clients information to help them understand the various stages of a personal injury lawsuit. The first part of this blog series has focused on everything that happens before trial. This post will discuss the trial itself.

Your first day in trial will usually begin with discussions between the judge and the attorneys. Often, there are last minute issues about your case that need to be decided by the judge. Once all the issues have been decided, the attorneys will begin selecting a jury. While you will end up with 12 jurors (and an alternate), the original jury pool can be 40-100 people. Jury selection can last a few hours, or a few days – depending on the complexity of the case.

Once the jurors have been picked, the attorneys begin their opening statements. During these statements, the attorneys will tell the jurors what they expect the evidence at trial to be. Opening statements can last 30 minutes or three hours, again, depending on the complexity of the case.

After opening statements, the plaintiff’s attorney will begin to present the evidence. This comes in the form of live testimony from the client, their friends and families, any expert witnesses, just to give you an idea. The defense attorney has the right to cross examine each of witnesses. Once the plaintiff’s attorney has given all the evidence to the jury, they will rest their case. Just as the two prior parts of your trial, this process can take hours, days, or even weeks.

Once the plaintiff is finished and has rested their side of the case, the defense attorney now gets the chance to put on all their evidence in much the same process. At the close of all the evidence, both attorneys get one last chance to speak to the jury through closing statements. The purpose of closing statements is to recap all the evidence that was presented at trial, and to argue why their version of the story is the right one.

The final part of trial is jury deliberation. Before the jurors decide the case, the judge will read a series of instructions that tell the jurors what the law is and how to apply the facts to the law.

Many of the clients we represent tell us that they fear trial, or more specifically, the courtroom itself. There are rules most people don’t know, words most lay people don’t understand, and generally, those who have been in court before were there because something bad happened. Rest assured that your attorney will walk you through each step. If you have a legal question about your case, call our offices, one of our attorneys will be glad to speak with you.

Preparing for Trial in an Injury Lawsuit

April 9, 2018 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment


The first six parts of this blog series have covered hiring an attorney, investigation of your claim, getting treatment, pre-suit negotiations, filing suit, and the discovery phase. The next stage in your lawsuit is getting ready for trial.

There is a huge amount of work involved in taking a case to trial, even if the injuries aren’t catastrophic. All the work your attorney has been doing over the last 12 – 24 months must now be brought together in a manner that tells the jury the story of your journey from the date you were injured to right now, and each story is completely unique to each client.

Just a few things that your attorney will work on include interviewing the witnesses that will be called and preparing them to testify; organizing all the documents involved in the case and determining which documents will be presented to the jury; preparing opening and closing statements; reviewing and summarizing any depositions that have been taken to ensure no witness changes their testimony at trial; and working with trial technology companies to create video and 3D renderings of your injury or a surgery you underwent. Depending on the complexity of the trial, anticipate that your attorney will spend weeks, if not months, getting ready.

There is also time spent with the client. After all, the client is the crux of the entire case. You should expect to meet with your attorney several times before the trial to go over your testimony, your medical treatment, your recovery, or perhaps the way that this injury has changed your life forever. Your attorney will want to meet with your friends and family to help tell the complete story of your journey.

We understand how difficult being involved in a lawsuit can be, and the prospect of a trial is daunting for many. If you have a legal question about your case, call our offices, one of our attorneys will be glad to speak with you.

If You Were Us What Would You Look for in an Attorney?

April 6, 2018 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

I recently met with a family who lost a love one. They were deciding on their legal options and which lawyers to hire to help. Certainly no simple task to be treated lightly. During our initial meeting, they asked me one of the best questions a prospective client has ever inquired of me.

If you were us what would you look for in an attorney?

Many thoughts popped into my head as to how to answer this very insightful question.

Would I care most about their experience as an attorney, experience and results handling similar types of cases, firm’s reputation in the legal community, do they teach other lawyers that area of law, other achievements, perhaps writing relevant articles or “the book” in the field of law?

After selecting on my my answer, the most important thing for me would be the relationship.

Would I feel comfortable working with the lawyer and law firm throughout the case?

Do I feel comfortable and have the rapport necessary to share very personal family issues with my lawyer and their team?

Make sure that you are comfortable the lawyer who will be handling your injury case. A lawyer and firm that cares about you and your family and is responsive to your needs will achieve a far better result than one that does not get to know you and is not interested in you as a person.

Here are some other questions worth considering:

  1. What percentage of your practice is devoted to helping clients in a situation like mine?
  2. How many clients have you represented that were similar to me?
  3. How many cases like mine have you tried in front of a jury?
  4. What were the outcomes of those jury trials?
  5. Do you have any unique experience or special training or knowledge that might apply in my situation?
  6. How will you keep me informed about what’s happening with my case?
  7. What are the potential outcomes of my case?
  8. If we lose, will I be responsible for any costs?
  9. Who, specifically, will be working on my case?

Have questions? Don’t hesitate to ask.

Should I Ask My Injury Lawyer About the Possible Outcome of My Case?

April 3, 2018 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Man With Questions Marks Above Head

Of course! In fact you should be asking regularly! This should be an ongoing dialogue. There are many things that can impact your potential recovery. Let me highlight two.

1) Liability or Who Is At Fault For Your Accident and Injuries?

In virtually every case, the insurance company and their corporate lawyers strongly contest liability. They rarely admit fault even in extreme circumstances such as when a driver who hurt you was intoxicated at the time of the collision. Therefore, your attorney must gather all of the evidence necessary to prove what really occurred. Often times this may take the form of tracking down and obtaining surveillance video. This could also take the form of taking depositions or sworn statements of witnesses to the crash who can corroborate your version. As a side note, after your lawyer obtains proof that the other driver caused your injuries, oftentimes the insurance lawyers admit their client’s fault only to look reasonable in front of an unsuspecting jury. Judges normally won’t let us inform the jury that the insurance lawyers vehemently denied responsibility for years despite overwhelming evidence.

2) Damages You Sustained.

Your injuries, recovery, and medical treatment impact your potential case value. If your injuries resolve in a short period of time, your expected recovery is much different than if you need multiple surgeries, including possible future medical care, which can be costly. This is one of the many reasons to keep your lawyer fully informed of your medical treatment, including upcoming doctor and physical therapy appointments.

Perhaps most importantly, you should have regular, detailed, and honest discussions with your injury lawyer as to your goals and how to obtain them. This is a team effort.

Sometimes the outcome of your case might depend on factors that at first glance seem irrelevant. For example, the insurance limits of the driver that caused the collision. They might be insufficient to fully cover your medical bills and your lawyer must look for additional coverage such as an underinsured policy.

Keeping in regular contact with your injury lawyer as to the progress of the case, expected outcomes, and your goals is vital to making sure that you obtain a fair result. Of course, an attorney must know what your ultimate goal is so they can make sure to do everything they can to satisfy your goal. An experienced injury lawyer will be able to know if you’re expected outcome is realistic given the specific facts of your case and the applicable law that governs the case.

In short, call your lawyer today – they really care and you and need to hear from you!

AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition 2018

March 13, 2018 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Supporting the next generation of great trial lawyers is extremely important to us. Last weekend, our firm proudly ran the AAJ Student Trial Advocacy Competition Chicago Regional. There were over 200 law school teams nationwide from 125 law schools and 16 teams compete in the Chicago regional.

Here are more details about STAC:

One of AAJ’s goals is to inspire excellence in trial advocacy through training and education for both law students and practicing attorneys. One way AAJ accomplishes this goal is by sponsoring the national Student Trial Advocacy Competition, an annual mock trial competition. This is an exceptional opportunity for law students to develop and practice their trial advocacy skills before distinguished members of the bar and bench.

The competition is open to law schools nationwide. Each law school may enter one or two teams, each team consisting of four law students. Teams registering after the competition is full will be put on a waiting list. A school’s selection method of its trial team is left to the school to determine. However, for a student to be eligible, he or she must be enrolled for a J.D. degree and be a law student member of AAJ. Students who graduate in December 2016 are eligible to participate only if the competition counts toward their credits for graduation and they will not be admitted to practice prior to March 2017.

Teams are assigned to one of fourteen regional competitions. Only the top team from each region will advance to the National Final Competition.

AAJ’s mock trial cases are always civil cases and tend to deal with products liability, personal injury, or medical malpractice/negligence issues. Teams will be judged on their skills in case preparation, opening statements, use of facts, the examination of lay and expert witnesses, and closing arguments. There will be no written exercise.

Because the purpose of this competition is to give law students the opportunity to develop their trial skills, the actual merits of the plaintiff’s case and the defendant’s case presented are irrelevant to this purpose. The competition is not to be decided on the merits of the plaintiff ’s or defendant’s case.

The winning team from each regional competition will advance to the National Final Competition. The national winning team will receive complimentary airfare, hotel accommodations, and registration for the AAJ Annual Convention in Boston, Massachusetts, July 22 – 25, 2017.

We’d like to thank everyone involved. We’re particularly grateful to those of you who took time out of your busy lives to volunteer over the weekend. Your generosity is greatly appreciated by, not only our firm, but also the students who will become the lawyers of the future.

Thank you!

Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases 2018 Edition

February 1, 2018 by Ken Levinson Leave a Comment

Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, 2017-2018 ed. (AAJ Press)

One of the many obligations we take on when we become trial lawyers is to assist our fellow lawyers in providing the best possible representation they can for their clients. In striving to meet that obligation, we dedicate some of our time to providing educational materials for lawyers.

We are proud to announce the publication of the 2017-2018 edition of Litigating Major Automobile Injury and Death Cases, co-authored by Ken Levinson, Thomas D’Amore, Karen Koehler, and Michael D. Freeman. The book is published by AAJ Press/Thomson Reuters.

In this year’s updated version, we have added several new chapters on the benefits of Focus Groups—a highly successful method for gaining insight into the minds of potential jurors.

We have conducted hundreds of focus groups both for our firm, as well as, firms across the country, many of which have led successful trial verdicts.

In fact, I recently oversaw focus groups for trials that led to verdicts of over $250 million. 

This series is designed to provide plaintiff attorneys with clear guidance on representing major automobile injury and death cases, and strategies for winning large damage awards with the least expenditure of effort.

Our objective is to help attorneys achieve maximum damage awards on behalf of their severely injured clients. The series features written discovery, depositions, medical and other expert witness testimony, and aspects of automobile jury trials, as well as the necessary forms needed to handle a case from beginning to end.

In Volume 1, Law and Forms, we aim to assist plaintiff attorneys in developing strong cases by incorporating litigation strategies that undermine expected defense strategies.

In Volume 2, Forensic Science, we have compiled a science/medical reference with hard-to-find data on injury and injury mechanism topics, to prove causation and damages for a variety of crash types and crash injuries, including epidemiology, injury risk by crash type, injury pattern analysis, biomechanics, and more.

Whether you’re a veteran plaintiff attorney, or a newly minted lawyer, we hope you find something new in this edition.

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