Whenever I think it will help the case.
There are two types of videos – settlement and evidence.
You use the settlement video to preview the best – or, from the insurance company’s perspective, the scariest – parts of the lawsuit.
In a wrongful death lawsuit, this can be clips from interviews with the victim’s wife, or children, or parents; it can be soundbites from old videos showing him at a family celebration, or getting an award, or getting married. The slide shows that funeral homes put together from old photographs usually have a lot of memories that will remind people of their own families, and make it impossible to feel neutral about the victim’s loss.
In a severe injury case, it might be pictures of a young girl’s face before and after she endured a terrible scar, reading part of a letter from her psychologist, and pictures of the accident scene. Or interviews with the wife and daughter of a man who can no longer be the breadwinner for his family, or even coach his daughter in soccer.
“Evidence” videos can show just about anything that will help a jury understand something about the case. Animations of complicated medical procedures, the movement of cars during a high speed accident, or the mechanics of failure for an automatic door or brake system.
Costs run from as little as $2,000 to much higher. The last video I used cost under $6,000.00.
A video is worth it because (1) There is no better way to tell an adjuster that you have a great case, and (2) Adjusters react quickly to a good presentation that includes a video.
With a video, the adjuster can see the strongest part of your lawsuit – real people talking in everyday words about how the accident changed your life, and how the other driver should have seen this accident coming. If it’s done right, the adjuster won’t have to wait a year while his lawyer tries to figure out what the case is about – he’ll be able to evaluate it quickly.
Here are a few other things you ought to know about video presentations:
1) There are cases where you have to do it, or they’ll think you’re not serious.
2) They don’t help in all cases. Partly because of the expense, they work the best in large cases.
3) I’ll write a brief script, or a story line. Then I get out of the way, and let the videographer tell the story.
4) You can’t rely on the video itself to tell the story. Your lawyer has to collect all your medical records, summarize them, get letters from your doctors, and prepare a damages summary – at a minimum.
Every time I’ve had a video done, it was more than worth it. Once, I saw an adjuster squirm when a mother started talking on a video about how much she missed her son.
I have worked with Kraig Haplea, a local videographer. He uses a local television reporter to narrate his videos. If you click on the link for his firm, Visual Justice, you can see what a video can do.
I have been a lawyer over 30 years. A good lawyer is always looking for a new way to tell a story. If you have a personal injury case in Cincinnati, Ohio or if you want to know what your lawsuit is worth, talk with an experienced Cincinnati Injury Attorney about the case. Call me, William Strubbe, at 513-621-4775.
Because all situations are different, and because there may be other facts pertaining to your case that I don’t know about, you should not rely on this answer for legal advice. I am not your attorney, and no lawyer client relationship has been formed.
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