Michael S. Eichenbaum, an insurers’ defense attorney in liability cases, explains how “reading” a plaintiff’s demeanor can foretell the outcome of a lawsuit in an audio podcast that supplements the informative Read My Lips: How Plaintiffs Behave At Deposition Can Foretell How Juries Will React To Their Testimony At Trial Best's Review June 2011 pp76-77
One of the case examples used by Eichenbaum to illustrate his point involved a 32 year old plaintiff who was beaten by a security guard who was described as a poor witness-bitter, argumentative, disrespectful and had negative facial expressions when he testified at deposition. Eichenbaum states that this presentation was a major factor in how the defense portrayed the plaintiff to the insurance company. During the trial the plaintiff displayed the same unlikable characteristics and despite there being no dispute over whether the plaintiff was beaten by the security guard or suffered serious injury, the jury awarded general damages of about 1/10th of what the defense felt he could have achieved had he made a connection.
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