Frank Bayuk and Bethany Schneider discuss their approach to potential case weaknesses, and how they won a $7 million verdict in a Yamaha rollover crash trial. Watch the full interview, as well as openings in the trial, here.
Adeptly addressing potential weaknesses in your case is critical to persuading a jury at trial. And in a wide-ranging interview breaking down how they won a $7 million verdict against Yamaha for the injuries a toddler suffered in a golf car rollover crash, Bayuk & Pratt’s Frank Bayuk and Schneider Injury Law’s Bethany Schneider discussed how they masterfully undercut a major potential weakness in their case.
A three-year-old girl suffered a traumatic brain injury and severe scarring across her body when the Yamaha 2013-model “Drive” golf car that her father was driving rolled over as he hit the brakes on a downhill incline. Plaintiffs claimed the golf car’s rear, two-wheel braking system rendered it defective and caused the crash.
However, Yamaha pointed to after-market modifications on the car that made it bigger, heavier, and faster, which they said ultimately caused the wreck. And importantly, those modifications made the golf car look much different from the stock model, which could resonate with jurors.
But at trial, Bayuk addressed the difference in the vehicles' appearance head-on in openings. As he showed jurors photos of both the modified golf car and the stock car, he said that, while the two vehicles appeared different at first glance, the real cause of the wreck was unseen.
“The brake defect is hidden underneath,” Bayuk said, adding that jurors would be able to inspect both vehicles up close. “We’re going to show you these things, because the most import thing you won’t see are the brakes.”
Bayuk also highlighted accident reconstruction video showing that both the modified car and the stock car rolled over under similar conditions. That video, part of a broader approach aimed to undercut the defense's argument on the vehicles' differences, was central to winning a $7 million verdict in the case.
And in a wide-ranging interview discussing the techniques that helped win that award, Schneider said she believes it’s crucial to preemptively address a case's weaknesses directly at trial.
WATCH FREE Openings in Hall v. Yamaha and the full interview with Bayuk and Schneider now.
“We have tried cases with the mindset that there is not going to be anything the defense says first about our case,” Schneider said. “The process I go through is trying to figure out, do you want to embrace that [fact], or do you want to weaponize that fact?... Putting the weaknesses in context can be really helpful in not letting these… defeat your case.”
Bayuk and Schneider’s discussion on powerfully addressing perceived case weaknesses is part of Inside the Trial, an in-depth interview on the trial and the techniques they used. It’s an hour-plus deep dive into topics such as:
- How to best use focus groups when prepping for trial.
- The importance of demonstratives in telling your trial story.
- Best practices for presenting other similar incident evidence.
- Keys to cross-examining a corporate representative.
- Trying product liability cases as a solo practice or small firm.
And much more, along with video of key moments from throughout the trial.
Now you can watch the entire interview, PLUS watch openings in the trial free, courtesy of our friends at ChartSquad.
Simply click here to complete the form, and you’ll be able to watch the entire openings in this headline-making trial, then watch Bayuk & Schneider break down their approach to the case.
