1. Using expert testimony to help a jury appreciate your client’s injuries
Kevin Yoo, MD, FACS

2. Prep work Meet with your expert Make sure expert is prepared
Go over strategy
Listen to expert
Outline the legal restrictions of the case
Allow experts to be themselves and act naturally
Get on same page

3. Think of yourself as a jury member
Lay person
Very little medical knowledge
But all have experienced some injury from some trauma
Let the physician expert witness show the jury that your client’s injuries are all reasonable and life-like

4. Getting hurt is a fact of life!

5. Getting old is a Bitch!

6. Can you tell the difference
Can you tell the difference?! Blow up the films and let the images speak for themselves.

7. Egg Shell Client
You should want a patient with lots of pre-existing conditions!
Degenerative disc disease
Cervical/lumbar spinal stenosis
Facet hypertrophy
Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy
Lumbar spondylolisthesis
Cervical/lumbar bulging or herniated discs
Cervical/lumbar disc annular tear
Scoliosis/kyphosis
Compression fractures
Bone spurs or osteophytes
Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis
Ankylosing hyperostosis
Previous back or neck injury

8. California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI)3927
Aggravation of Preexisting Condition or Disability[Name of plaintiff] is not entitled to damages for any physical or emotional condition that [he/she] had before [name of defendant]'s conduct occurred. However, if [name of plaintiff] had a physical or emotional condition that was made worse by [name of defendant]'s wrongful conduct, you must award damages that will reasonably and fairly compensate [him/her] for the effect on that condition.

9. California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI)3928.
Unusually Susceptible Plaintiff
You must decide the full amount of money that will reasonably and fairly compensate [name of plaintiff] for all damages caused by the wrongful conduct of [name of defendant], even if [name of plaintiff] was more susceptible to injury than a normally healthy person would have been, and even if a normally healthy person would not have suffered similar injury.

10. When is the need for spinal surgery related to traumatic event?

11. Conditions that are easily attributable to trauma!

12. Cervical Herniated Discs

13. Lumbar Herniated Disk

14. Annular Tear Sign of trauma Can progress to a herniated disc
Can be painful

15. Conditions that are not easily attributable to trauma!

16. Spondylolisthesis

17. Spinal Stenosis

18. Degenerative Disc Disease

19. MRI with Traumatic Brain Injury Protocol
Imaging Healthcare Specialists
ADVANCED NEUROIMAGING TECHNIQUES
DIFFUSION TENSOR IMAGING (DTI): Looks at fiber tracts
SUSCEPTIBILITY WEIGHTED IMAGING (SWI): Looks for microbleeds
MR SPECTROSCOPY (MRS): Looks for chemical composition of brain tissue

20. Post Concussive Syndrome
Headaches
Dizziness
Fatigue
Irritability
Sleep Problems
Concentration Problems
Memory Problems
Problems tolerating stress/emotion/alcohol
Anxiety/Depression
Changes in personality
Apathy
Photophobia/Phonophobia
Etc.