Search Site
Menu

The Keys to Success at Trial… Knowing the Jury Instructions!

As in all successful journeys, you must know your ultimate destination at the beginning of the trip. Handling a personal injury case on behalf of a client is a journey that the client and lawyer take together, sometimes taking 2 to 3 years to complete. To be successful on the client’s behalf, the experienced personal injury trial lawyer knows what they must prove to win before accepting the case.

That knowledge is based on the lawyer being intimately familiar with the jury instructions (and the cases and statutes upon which they are based) that will be given to the jury by the trial judge before it begins deliberating the case. In the typical personal injury case stemming from an automobile crash, the jury instructions include an explanation of what it means to be “negligent” or “contributorily negligent,” which party has “the burden of proof” on certain issues, the level of proof needed to prevail on a particular issue, i.e., “the greater weight of the evidence,” “proximate cause,” a driver’s duty of “ordinary care,” and the “damages” the injured person is entitled to recover.

At the initial consultation, to properly counsel the potential client, the experienced lawyer will determine whether the facts and information known to the potential client satisfy all of the elements needed to have a successful personal injury claim or case. Those elements are whether another party was negligent, whether that other party’s negligence was a cause of the crash, and whether the crash caused the potential client physical injuries. In Virginia, as contributory negligence is a complete defense to a personal injury claim, the lawyer must also consider the potential client’s actions and whether they contributed to the happening to the crash.

The analysis that the lawyer makes, guided necessarily by the jury instructions, is akin to building a house or putting together a puzzle. There are necessary parts or pieces that the lawyer and their team must assemble to have a case that is ultimately resolved in the client’s favor either by settlement or trial. Without a working knowledge of the jury instructions, the lawyer will not know, for certain, whether they have all the facts and information needed to prove the client’s case, nor will they know what information must be obtained, by way of investigation or expert opinion, required to prove the client’s case.

In addition, to ensure that the lawyer has the evidence necessary to prove their client’s case, a working knowledge of the jury instructions enables the lawyer to discuss them comfortably with the jury during the closing argument. “Negligence,” “contributory negligence,” the “the burden of proof” are all terms that are foreign to most non-lawyers. Hearing them read by a judge one time may not be enough for the jurors to fully understand or appreciate what they mean. A lawyer who has worked with the instructions and truly understands and appreciates them is in a good position to help the jury understand them and the issues they must decide. When the jury looks at that particular lawyer for guidance, their client tends to prevail!

OUR RESULTS
  • "$2,000,000.00 Auto Pedestrian Hit by Car / Brain Injury"

  • "$2,000,000.00 Pedestrian Hit By Bus / Broken Foot, Surgery Complications & Partial Choroidal Detachment"

  • "$2,000,000.00 Wrongful Death Settlement"

  • "$1,900,000.00 Pedestrian Hit By Truck / Fractured Pelvis & Multiple Surgeries"

  • "$1,500,000.00 Auto Accident / Wrongful Death"

  • "$1,200,000.00 Auto Accident / Broken Neck, Punctured Lung"

  • "$847,500.00 Dangerous Dog Bite / Facial Injury, Scarring"

  • "$600,000.00 Tractor Trailer Crash / Neck Injury, requiring surgery"

  • "$595,000.00 (Jury Verdict) Auto Accident / Broken Foot"

  • "$546,905.00 Auto Accident / Neck injury, Herniated Disc"

Meet Our Attorneys
Our Awards & Memberships
  • Three best rated
  • Best Personal injury lawyers in Alexandria
Client Reviews
  • google
    5.0/5.0

    Justin Curcio and Curcio Law were outstanding in handling all aspects of my car accident. I’m very appreciative of the support they gave me and by making a bad situation into a seamless process.

    Read more

    Keri Cotman

  • google
    5.0/5.0

    The process was made easy by Justin Curcio. After the first meeting, he/his office handled everything only involving me once in a while when a decision was needed. A seamless process relieving me of much stress!

    Read more

    Lys Stalker

  • google
    5.0/5.0

    I can not put into words the amazing experience Tom and his team have done for our family. My daughter and I were involved in a terrible accident in 2021 that resulted in some serious injuries. From the very first encounter, Tom treated our case lik...

    Read more

    Cherelle C. Lamptey

  • google
    5.0/5.0

    Tom was my attorney for a 3rd party personal injury (dog bite) that I experienced in 2021. He provided outstanding guidance & led my case to a very successful conclusion. I recommend Tom & his firm to anyone needing legal support. Thank you Tom, yo...

    Read more

    Bonnie Martin

  • google
    5.0/5.0

    After an auto accident I needed a Personal Injury Lawyer. Curcio Law was recommended. Justin Curcio handled my case. He was meticulous in gathering information and at the hearing. I was treated with courtesy and caring all through the process. M...

    Read more

    Virginia Norton

See all reviews
Contact us

Quick Contact Form