Jury Damages

5. How would a jury decide on the amount of damages?

As you may or may not know, at the end of the presentation of evidence and testimony, the judge “instructs” the jury regarding the applicable laws of negligence and damages. Both myself as your lawyer and the nursing home’s defense counsel are permitted to suggest jury instructions to the judge. As noted above, I usually work on the jury instructions long before any trial begins. After all, you need to know where you want to end up before beginning a trial.

The jurors are often told to use their best judgment in assessing damages. If there are out of pocket costs, such as medical bills or rehabilitation costs, such damages are relatively easy to calculate. Beyond that, we have to rely on each juror’s idea of what is fair. My practice is usually to suggest a particular number and to explain why such a number is fair – perhaps to “reimburse” the resident for the months or years stolen from him – perhaps to pay for comfortable surroundings with live in care – perhaps to “send a message” to the nursing home. Each case is different.

Studies have show, and I agree with this assessment, that it benefits our case to create a starting point for a dollar award as early in the case as possible.