When a personal injury trial is done well, jurors are drawn into a story – the story of a person, a life, a family, a struggle. There is also the story of the incident that caused the plaintiff’s death or injuries and the events leading up to the tragic moment. Like all good stories, a personal injury trial has a beginning, middle and end, compelling characters, good guys and villains, themes and lessons. Somehow jurors are transported out of their own lives and into the life of the trial.

The magic of the trial time machine begins with the lawyers’ opening statements. The plaintiff’s lawyer goes first. He introduces himself and his clients and puts the jurors at ease. Then with compelling words he begins his opening statement and sets in motion the drama in which the jurors will be absorbed throughout the trial – “This is the story of a fighter, not a boxer in the gym, but a little boy named ....” or “Bill Smith overcame the death of his parents when he was 6 years old to become a successful businessman, a loving husband and the father of three beautiful children, but he could not overcome the two ton truck driven by ABC Company’s driver at 30 miles an hour over the speed limit.”

Following the lead-in to the opening statement, the lawyer will tell the jury in detail all that they will hear and see during the trial. Some lawyers favor opening statements that are as brief as necessary to do the job, while others including the renowned plaintiff’s lawyer, Gerry Spence, advocate for an opening that leaves nothing to the imagination. Whether short or long, it is the job of each lawyer to be sure to produce all that he promised in the opening.

The bulk of the trial story is established through live witnesses who answer the questions put to them by each party’s counsel. Each direct examination is usually followed by the other lawyer’s cross-examination. In future articles on this website, I will discuss effective direct and cross-examinations of witnesses. In most serious personal injury cases, there will be expert witnesses in addition to the lay witnesses, for example, experts on medicine, product design, a particular industry, or premises safety. Verbal testimony will be buttressed by exhibits, sometimes blowups of documents or photographs, sometimes high-tech exhibits such as computer-generated recreations.

Finally, after the witnesses are done, the lawyers give their closing arguments to the jury. In the closing, the lawyers comment on the evidence the jury has seen and heard. A lawyer may suggest to the jurors, the significance of certain testimony to his client’s case. In a serious personal injury case, plaintiff’s lawyer will want to end on a note that the jurors will remember and take back to the jury room and that will cause them, out of a sense of justice, not pity, to render a verdict for the injured plaintiff.