Attorney Jamison Allen recently won a $3,000,000 dollar verdict in Marion County. There were highs throughout the entire process of the case, but there were some challenges that Attorney Allen and his team faced as well. Following are the top five:
- Age of the Plaintiff
The client was elderly. She was in fact 88 years old at the time of the injury and 93 years old at the time of the trial. Insurance companies can be strategic with their settlement offers and how they value injury cases.
For elderly clients, insurance companies often attempt to reduce the value in cases because there is not as much life left on average as compared to younger injury clients seeking a settlement. When there is a permanent injury in a client, the insurance company will claim that the injury does not have the same length of an effect as it does on someone younger.
- Selecting Before / After Witnesses
A before / after witness is a person who will testify as to how a client was conditioned before and after an injury.The most beneficial before / after witness in the most recent trial was the client’s dental hygienist.
This witness was a part of the client’s family dentist office for a long time and knew her for thirty years. She knew the family, specific family stories, and she had a connection with them all. The witness had experienced the client’s normal decline due to age, but she also knew that specific injuries and changes in the client’s life were due to the trauma of her injury.
- Ego
Attorney Allen is not known for his ego, but it can still be difficult to surrender control and share the workload. In this case, he had invaluable co-counsel with a knack for delicate lines of questioning, and she proved to be a major asset at trial.
Attorney Allen also had to adjust to the idea of bringing in a body language consultant to help with jury selection. He was hesitant at first, because he’d never tried this approach, but Lisa Mitchell ended up providing invaluable input.
- Presenting Medical Testimony
As a rule of thumb, doctors, physician’s assistants, and nurses don’t like to be present at trials, and the reason why is pretty obvious—it screws up their work day. Fortunately, medical professionals can offer testimony via video, but this comes with its own set of problems.
There are usually technological challenges and scheduling conflicts for both sides, and it doesn’t help when the medical professionals put off their testimony until just before trial.
- Changes in Marion County
The Marion County court system has made some major changes over the last couple of years. Most of these changes are for the better, but logistics are still being worked out, and all of the courtrooms have moved to an entirely new building. The Marion County Court staff was exceptional to work with despite any challenges Attorney Allen and his team faced.
Make the Right Call
Not all injury cases are the same, and the results are specific to the facts and legal circumstances surrounding it. If you have any questions about your specific injury case or injury cases in general and want a team that will fight with you until the very end, give us a call at 317-632-3642. Stay safe and look out for each other.
