In mild traumatic brain injury cases, jurors may not be able to see the outward symptoms of a plaintiff's brain damage immediately. Because of that, it’s critical for a plaintiff’s attorney to lay the groundwork for a significant damage request by conveying the severity of the injury in the first moments of an opening statement. In Wicker v. American Family Insurance, Cash, Krugler & Fredericks’ Alwyn Fredericks combined visual aids and clear analogies during his opening to set up a seven-figure verdict in his client’s 2015 trial.

The plaintiff’s “home field” advantage of making the final closing argument allowed an attorney in one recent DeKalb County State Court case to powerfully turn an ill-chosen phrase in the defense’s closing statement into a self-fulfilling prophecy and secure a large verdict for his client under a difficult set of circumstances. Jewel Wicker v. American Family Insurance et al. (13A47336).