We were honored to work on the Settlement Video for the severely tragic, senseless and avoidable death of a remarkably talented, young actor. “Anton Yelchin was crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death,” the lawsuit alleged. Yelchin’s family attorney, Gary Dordick, was remarkable in his representation of Anton’s parents. We will never forget their …
Settlement Video: Every case has a story
What was the victim’s life like before the incident? Who is liable? What are the damages and why should the opposing parties pay compensation? These and other issues can be addressed with on-camera interviews of expert witnesses, informed family members and deposition testimony of the key players. The interviews may be intertwined with before-and-after photos, demonstrative re-creations, police reports and other …
Settlement Documentary: Damages presented with Legal Video
The most important issue to be addressed in the settlement video is damages. The documentary must clearly demonstrate for the claims administrator and opposing counsel how the victim’s life has been altered, what the severity of the victim’s injuries are, as well as an assessment of current and future needs. While presenting damages, it is imperative to highlight the credibility …
Gilding the lily and other extremes
Gross or even subtle exaggerations may cause opposing counsel to view the video presentation with suspicion and not take the demand seriously. Overstating or overdramatizing events can reflect poorly on the entire mediation process and cast reservations about the validity of the case. Thus, it is important to make sure that your video presentation company is experienced in producing legal …
Legal Video Documentary: Never Interview the Victim?
There is one unwritten rule when preparing for a legal video documentary: never interview the victim on camera for a settlement video. The reason is obvious; so as not to provide opposing counsel information that could be potentially harmful to the case. The basic wisdom is to err on the side of caution, rather than have the victim potentially reveal …
Expert witness testimony for legal video brochures
In almost every matter, the expert’s testimony is a necessity and is expected by the opposing parties. This is especially true in cases where the issues are difficult to interpret and define. It is therefore beneficial to have key expert witnesses interviewed on-camera for the documentary presentation. We all know these witnesses add credibility to the plaintiffs claim, but a …
Day in the Iife video v. settlement documentary
Day in the life videos are primarily utilized in catastrophic personal-injury cases to document, without prejudice, the plaintiff’s daily activities and the impact the injury has had on their lives. Typically, day in the life videos are presented in trial for jurors to witness the plaintiff’s condition in a typical day. The content of these videos are subjected to the …
Settlement documentary: Presenting critical evidence and proving damages
For the purposes of this article we will explore the challenges of presenting a case of an adult survivor of sexual abuse. Adult survivors of sexual abuse rarely have physical signs of injury. Regardless of the age of the victim at the time of the sexual abuse, it is a traumatic, violating experience that may impact every aspect of the …
How to present traumatic brain injury or emotional and mental damages
Overcoming the challenges of the invisible injury has never been more dramatic and succinct. With the use of professional documentary presentations, consumer attorneys are well-equipped to maximize settlement demands In law school, every lawyer takes a course on Torts. In the portion that discusses the building blocks of the body of negligence law, the bright-eyed first-year law student reads the …
Visual Persuasion in Litigation
Settlement video documentaries are sophisticated video presentations produced specifically for pre-trial mediation and settlement. The sole purpose of these settlement documentary videos is to convince the opposing parties it is in their best interest to pay maximum compensation now rather than risk a jury trial later. A well-crafted settlement video incorporates the key factors of a case and visually weaves …