When you're badly injured, the last thing you want to think about is filling out paperwork, searching for an attorney, or trying to gather evidence. Yet, these steps are necessary if you want to collect the compensation you deserve due to someone else's negligence. The more you know about personal injury cases and hiring an attorney, the less stressful this time will be.
We've created this website to offer basic personal injury law advice for anyone who has been injured or who may become injured in the future. Keep in mind that if you've been injured in a car accident, due to medical neglect, or even by slipping in someone else's parking lot, your case qualifies a personal injury case — and thus you'll find our collection of articles relevant.
If you are pursuing an injury case, one tactic you can use to win over a jury is to arouse their emotions and make them sympathize with you or despise the defendant. Below are some things to help you do that.
Permanent Injury
One of the best ways to trigger an emotional reaction from a jury is to prove the permanency of your injuries. For example, proving that the defendant's actions have left you with a permanent paralysis may hold more sway with the jury than proving that you have chronic back pain. This makes sense because most people cannot imagine living with an extreme disability for the rest of their lives.
Effect on Minors
Many people understand that children are more vulnerable to injuries than adults. Kids also don't have the presence of mind to avoid accidents. That is why more protection is given to kids by society, including the government. For the same reason, accidents that affect children attract more emotions than those that affect kids. You can trigger emotional appeal in a jury by proving how the accident has affected your child either directly or indirectly.
An example of a direct effect is if your child was a passenger in your car at the time of the crash, and the time got injured. The direct effects are the consequences your child might experience as a result of your injury. For example, you might not be able to provide for your kids (financially) or play with them as much as you used to do before the accident.
Injury Pictures
For strong emotional appeal, it's effective to use injury pictures during the trial. For example, showing the jury pictures of your bloody clothing after an accident will arouse more sympathy than just verbal explanations of the injuries. However, you must be careful not to go overboard; too many graphical pictures might backfire on you.
Defendant Lies and Cover-Ups
One of the things jurors dislike the most is a lying defendant. It's even worse if the defendant is caught trying to cover up their misdeeds. For example, a motorist who fled an accident scene and washed their car to get rid of evidence is likely to draw more disdain from the jury than another one stopped at the scene and tried to help the accident victims. Prove such lies and you are likely to succeed in turning the jury against the defendant.
Plaintiff Likability
Lastly, the more likable the jury finds you to be, the more they are likely to give you a reasonable award. Jurors may find you likable if you are gentle, honest, have a pleasant personality. Proving that you are a hard-working and upstanding member of society can also help you.
When you're in court because of a personal injury, it's always good to stick with the honest truth. For more information on how to handle your case, contact law firms like Weathers Law Firm, LLC.