Variety of Factors that Can Affect Personal Injury Verdict

Personal injury claims can arise in a variety of circumstances, including car accidents, truck crashes, medical malpractice claims, premises liability claims, product liability claims, and more. Many of those cases will settle before a lawsuit is filed. Almost all of those cases will settle before a trial before a jury is held.

But some of those cases will go all the way through trial for a jury to decide.

Having tried many cases to juries in a different types of personal injury cases, and having spoken with many of those verdicts about their deliberations and rationale for the verdict, I want to share what I have seen that can affect and influence personal injury verdicts.

To answer this question, the first thing to examine is the law.

Determining Factors

The laws of the jurisdiction are the most important factor in determining the outcome of personal injury litigation. Each jurisdiction — or state — has its own set of rules that cover what the evidence must show for the plaintiff (the injured party) to win.  In Virginia, for example, the jury must decide the following: 

• Determining who was at fault for the event that caused the injury
• Determining the extent of harms and losses sustained by the injured person
• Determining whether those harms and losses were caused by the event in question
• Determining how much the injury party should receive in terms of compensation

When it comes to defining what type of evidence is acceptable in court, certain states have their own set of rules. While there are certain differences from state-to-state, the majority of the rules will be the same.

How Jurors Weigh the Factors to Reach Their Verdict

I’ve found in my experience that juries weigh and value cases differently than insurance companies. Insurance companies tend to focus on the economic damages that an injured party has. This can be the amount of the medical bills, the lost wages, and the amount of the property damage. Jurors, however, are oftentimes much more interested in the human losses that an injured party suffers. So a jury might be moved to hear that an injured party’s family life is altered from an injury. Maybe a new back injury prevents a young mother from being able to pick up her baby. Perhaps an athlete is prevented from playing their sport even though that sport is just a hobby.

Juries may be less inclined to award significant verdicts if the plaintiff has a complicated medical history where it is unclear the impact the crash had on this injury. We’ve found through our cases that honesty is the best policy. If someone had a history of similar injuries before this event, it is best to embrace that and explain how things are different. Juries have recognized this as a strength and credibility boost, as the existence of those previous injuries can actually explain how the plaintiff’s condition has been made far worse.

This and similar types of evidence can compel a jury to award large verdicts in cases and vastly exceed the amounts the insurance company thinks the case is worth.

Juries also tend to place significant weight on bad conduct by the defendant that caused the accident, crash, or other event. For example, juries can be sympathetic to defendant drivers who were momentarily distracted when that momentary distraction causes a crash. After all, those defendants can relate to even occasional distraction and they may feel guilty awarding damages to someone they relate to.

But jurors may get enraged to learn that the crash occurred because the defendant driver was driving under the influence of alcohol. When it turns out that the defendant driver has had previous or other drunk driving events after this crash in question, the jury may be especially angry. That can influence their verdict, especially if punitive damages are available in the case and presented to the jury.

For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100

Other Factors

Ultimately, the credibility of the plaintiff and his or her evidence is the main thing juries consider. If the plaintiff is likeable, credible, and presents compelling witnesses to explain the effect these injuries have had on their life, jurors who find that evidence to be compelling will likely be inclined to award a significant verdict as a result.

It is important to keep in mind that jurors can be unpredictable. After all, every juror comes into court with their own life experiences, and those jurors will likely filter any evidence they hear or see through the biases formed by their experiences. But we have found that juries take their oaths seriously and want to reach the right result. We have found that they want to weigh the evidence and reach a result that is fair.

And we have found that juries that do this typically place a much higher value on human harms and losses than an insurance company ever will. For that reason, when we take a case to trial, we feel confident placing our trust it the jurors and letting them work to reach a fair result for our client.

Litigation is a stressful and confusing process. Trials even moreso. That’s especially true when so much is riding on a case. At MartinWren, P.C., we know how difficult it is to pursue a case through litigation and even trial. We offer compassionate but aggressive representation to fight for you while shielding you from the attacks of the defense. We will keep you informed, find your story, and, if necessary, present it to a jury.

One thing that is unique about our firm is that our main trial team consists of the husband and wife team of Bob and Lauren Byrne. Bob and Lauren have tried many cases together and have routinely exceeded the insurance company’s best settlement offer by a large amount. Jurors and judges have commented that they enjoy seeing Bob and Lauren working together and that it makes trials interesting.

Call us today if you need help with a legal dispute. We can help.

Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form