Tip the Scales

A Firm Take on Settlement Video Documentary

Source: http://tinyurl.com/cknmqk

A settlement video can be a powerful tool to communicate the facts of a case . Certainly, new computer and video technology has put settlement videos within reach of most trial lawyers.

There are plenty of good reasons to add settlement videos to your arsenal of offensive weapons. Settlement videos give you a chance to communicate directly - without your message being filtered by the defense attorney - with the defendants’ representatives, insurance adjustors or claims committee who make the money decisions. Settlement videos do an excellent job demonstrating a client’s catastrophic injury, including disfigurement, paralysis, and brain damage. Just consider for a moment whether it is more persuasive to send over a pile of medical reports in a written demand or to show on video the effort it takes your client to get dressed in the morning and the frustration that goes into trying to button a shirt, for example? And when well done, I believe settlement videos assist you in settling cases at the top of the settlement range you had set and maximizing the recovery for your client.

You’ve heard the old adage, “Seeing is believing”? Well, a settlement video gives the decision-makers a chance to see what sort of presentation your plaintiff and key witnesses make and how well they might perform at trial. The decision makers can see for themselves the kind of case the plaintiff could put on at trial.

Settlement videos are not the same as “day-in-the life” videos. Day-in-the-life videos are intended as evidence for trial and as such, are subject to restraints that settlement videos are not. Day-in-the-life videos depict the plaintiff’s daily routines and illustrate the ways in which those daily routines have been affected by his or her injuries. Certainly, this same kind of footage can and should be included in a settlement video but the difference is that a settlement video can be much more wideranging in content and presentation.

Settlement videos can cover issues involving both liability and damages. For example, the lawyers at King, Bryan & Wiley, who have been using settlement videos in their practice for about ten years, use their settlement videos as the opening statement at the actual mediation itself. Their settlement videos don’t shy away from complex liability issues but rather deal with opposing counsel’s arguments head-on. Bob Bryan says they will often include taped interviews with key witnesses, police officers or even their liability experts. Key documents, video of the scene, news reports, or excerpts from the videotaped depositions of the defendant’s witnesses can also be woven into this type of settlement video.