Here is an article that was sent to me that discusses errors in determining impact speed. There are some great pieces of information in here. You should read this and use it in cross examining and deposing expert witnesses.
Thanks to Janabeth Evans Taylor for the article.
The ABA recently published my newest article on MIST cases. This article provides some basic tips on MIST cases. It is not a supplement for reading the book, but it does give you some basic tips. The outline appears below:
10. Read the literature.
9. Talk to the potential client.
8. Learn to use the internet.
7. Take a look at the cars.
6. Get to know the treating doctor.
5. Set reasonable expectations.
4. Get your discovery done timely.
3. Don't waste money.
2. Be aggressive but fair.
1. Try the cases.
Take a look at the article and let me know what you think.
Surprise! I know, this must have caught everyone off guard. You can cause damage in a 3mph collision. How much damage? Over $4,500 on a Lexus IS and over $5,200 on an Infiniti G35. A Volkswagen Passat had over $4,500 in damage, as did the Pontiac G6 (did anyone ever buy a G6?), and the Nissan Maxima.
The interesting part is that this study came from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, an auto insurance industry sponsored group. Their study, reported in the LA Times, shows that cars are sustaining more than just bumper damage in 3 mph collisions. Grills, hoods and fenders are also sustaining damage.
You can now use this study to cross-examine defense "experts." These experts opine about the force of impact and speed of the vehicles based solely on the amount of damage. Well, if an Infiniti sustaines $5,200 in a 6 mph collision, how fast was the collision if there is $2,500 in damage? Slower? Faster? You don't know because there are many more factors that come in to play.
Two other points to keep in mind: Most cars do not have steel reinforced bumpers like they did 10 years ago. And with more cars, the bumper is being designed into the body of the vehicle so there is no bumper.
In your next MIST case, make sure you ask the defense expert about this report. My guess: he has never heard of it!
If you have a client with low back pain from a MIST case, you should read these reports. A study from the American College of Physicians and American Pain Society and published in the Annals of Internal Medicine talks about several areas of interest:
1. Diagnosis and Treatment;
2. Nonpharmacological therapies; and
3. medications.
There is some great information here. As an attorney representing people with these injuries, you need to make sure that you understand the medicine. You need to explain it to your client and be able to explain it, most importantly, to the jury. A good adjuster will know it, and you need to know it too.
From Janabeth Taylor comes another great article. The article discusses some of the myths behind minimum impact junk science. From the abstract:
Analysis of the underlying math and physics reveals that reliance on vehicle damage alone to determine the severity of a collision is invalid. Discounting injuries based on lack of vehicle damage is not supported by either the laws of physics or the empirical data available.
Give this a read and use it to fight the junk science that makes these cass more difficult.
