Molly DiRago, a partner at Troutman Pepper Locke, analyzes how Thomas Klein's use of demonstratives helped Nissan prevail in a $42 million airbag trial.
Automotive product liability trials are often won or lost on complex evidence, from engineering reports to accident reconstruction. Because of this, it’s critical for attorneys on both sides of the courtroom to break down that complicated, often dry, evidence in ways that jurors can understand and, importantly, remember when they deliberate. In the latest episode of Trial Technique Spotlight, Molly DiRago, a veteran trial attorney and partner with Troutman Pepper Locke, spotlights how Thomas Klein's use of demonstratives helped clear Nissan in a $42 million airbag trial against the automotive giant.
John Paxin suffered a neck fracture and was rendered a quadriplegic when his 2012 Nissan Titan truck inadvertently went off road and its side curtain airbag deployed. Paxin died of pneumonia three years after the incident, and his family contended that the truck’s airbag system was defective because it deployed without the vehicle rolling over. Nissan, for its part, contended the airbag system was not defective and that Paxin broke his neck from the force of driving off a steep embankment, exacerbated by a medical condition that made the bones in his neck unusually brittle.
Key evidence included data from the vehicle’s “black box” event data recorder, accident reconstruction, and more. That kind of data can become muddled in jurors’ minds unless it’s clearly explained. And in his opening for Nissan, Klein, of Klein Thomas Lee & Fresard, used a range of demonstratives to introduce and best frame that evidence.
For instance, Klein walked jurors through pertinent numbers from the vehicle’s event data recorder, or EDR. In analyzing that portion of Klein’s opening, DiRago noted how the demonstrative slide Klein used to explain the EDR numbers showed both the truck’s path during the incident and the data itself. Jurors could easily see where the truck was at each critical moment that the “black box” data was recorded.
“So here, he used pictures, combined with that chart to explain the complicated information that was collected, and when and where it was collected,” DiRago said. “This will be really critical to Nissan’s defense.”
DiRago added, though, that Klein kept demonstratives clean where he could. “The EDR information is in a pretty simple chart. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy,” DiRago said.
Beyond slides, Klein used a host of other demonstratives, including his own body, when outlining the defense version of the incident. At one point, Klein walked jurors through a computer animation of the incident, showing how the vehicle reacted to the impact. Turning away from the animation, Klein quickly moved to a chair, mimicking a driver’s position, and using his own body to explain how Nissan believed those same forces would have affected Paxin.
“[Paxin’s] going to go down and forward as the truck hits the pavement,” Klein told jurors, slumping forward in the chair. “And that’s going to cause him, his back and head, to go into flexion.”
DiRago said Klein’s seamless transition from explaining the computer animation to using his own body as a demonstrative was powerful.
“I guarantee you that no juror was sleeping when Mr. Klein was doing that,” DiRago said. “He’s right there, showing you… what Nissan says happened.
DiRago said that the variety of demonstratives Klein used aimed to keep jurors engaged while working in concert to break down the complex aspects of the case.
“He uses pictures, videos, props, and his own body, which, combined, make a really effective and dynamic opening,” DiRago said.
And that opening set up a defense verdict for Nissan in a trial in which Paxin’s family had sought $42 million.
DiRago’s analysis is the latest in CVN’s ongoing series, Trial Technique Spotlight, which features leading trial experts analyzing verdict-proven courtroom techniques and how you can apply those same approaches to your own cases. DiRago is a partner in the Chicago office of Troutman Pepper Locke, where her practice focuses on complex commercial matters, including consumer fraud class actions and deceptive trade practices litigation. A veteran trial attorney with a stellar record in a range of high-profile cases, DiRago also trains the firm’s associates on trial technique.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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