Articles Posted in Trial Strategy

by

Today I had a trial in an auto accident injury case. My case was in Montgomery County District Court. It was what I call a “left turn” case. The defendant driver made a left turn across my client’s path, causing a pretty forceful collision.

The crash was bad enough that my guy wasn’t able to tell the responding paramedics where he was or what time it was. He did not know what day it was. He later suffered from nausea, believed to be from a concussion. While he was in the hospital for two days, he needed help from an occupational therapist to use the bathroom and to brush his teeth. Ultimately, he needed about a month of medical treatment. He was treated by the hospital’s attending orthopedist and got physical therapy from a therapist that the orthopedist referred him to.

The insurance carrier contested liability at trial. The defendant driver said in his interrogatory answers that my guy was contributorily negligent because he was speeding.

Continue reading

by

Hey, plaintiff’s bar! Wake up! Summary judgment isn’t just for defendants anymore!

Too many of us view the summary judgment process as an obstacle to be overcome, rather than as an effective offensive weapon. Almost since the beginning of time defendants in civil cases have used the summary judgment process as an attempt to weed out claims that have a weak factual or legal basis, or where an affirmative defense may apply. But to quote one of my favorite rap artists, Ice Cube: “The system is there to bury you. Why can’t it be there to save you?” Esquire, January 2003.

I like to file offensive summary judgment motions where appropriate. There is a host of factual situations where such a motion has merit. I have filed these directed at the issue of liability in cases involving rear-end collisions, uninsured/underinsured motorists, and the boulevard rule.

Continue reading