No Surprises at Personal Injury Trials

Scripted dramas about legal cases often have climactic scenes that take place at trials, but it does not take a professional screenwriter to make courtroom proceedings interesting. Televised trials captivate audiences, and journalists choose the most quotable lines from the trial to use as headlines. For most of the people in the courtroom, though, nothing that happens at the trial is a surprise. The parties have disclosed their evidence to each other during pretrial discovery. The judge has decided which evidence the parties may present to the jury. Pursuant to the Daubert standard, if either party summons expert witnesses, and the expert witnesses cite published scientific research in their testimony, the judge reviews the articles they plan to cite and determines whether the research meets Daubert’s criteria for admissibility. Lawyers also prepare witnesses for trial by telling them which questions they should expect the opposing party to ask during cross examination. No one is surprised except the jury, and if the trial is televised, the audience watching at home. To find out more about personal injury trials and the preliminary steps you must take before getting to one, contact a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney.

Judge Refuses to Admit Evidence Submitted at the Eleventh Hour

According to an old saying popular in the corporate world, lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. In 2019, a judge refused to admit evidence that the plaintiff’s lawyer submitted just days before the trial in a case that had been going on for years.

In 2011, Claudia Krysiak, who uses a power chair for mobility because she suffers from partial paralysis arising from an aneurysm, got hit by a car while riding her power chair on a stretch of road that did not have a sidewalk due to construction. The impact ejected her from her chair, and her injuries included a broken ankle. She filed a personal injury lawsuit against the at fault driver and against the company responsible for the road work.

The court eventually scheduled a trial for February 2019, but the day before the trial, the judge received an email from Krysiak’s lawyer, asking to admit new evidence. The new evidence, namely testimony from one of Krysiak’s doctors, would have demonstrated that Krysiak continued to experience symptoms from her accident-related injuries. This evidence could have increased the damages amount for future medical expenses. The judge refused to admit the evidence, since judges must receive evidence at least a week before the trial, so that they have time to make informed decisions about its admissibility. Even though the evidence was relevant to the case, the fact that the plaintiff’s lawyer submitted it at the eleventh hour caused the court to reject it.

Set Up a Consultation Today

A personal injury lawyer can help you get justice after a preventable accident if your injuries keep causing new complications even up to the eve of the trial.  Contact Boone & Davis in Fort Lauderdale, Florida or call 954-566-9919 to explore your potential recovery options today.

Source:

law.com/dailybusinessreview/2020/07/09/a-surprise-email-last-minute-evidence-and-a-broward-judges-steadfastness-mark-case-alleging-trial-by-ambush/