Ultimate Guide to Motor Vehicle Accident Cases

Agenda / Content Covered

All times are shown in Eastern time

1. Case Selection and Medical Record Essentials
   11:00 - 11:30, James W. Balmer
   1. Top Questions to Ask During Intake (With Sample Questionnaire)
   2. Should You Take the Case? Red, Yellow, and Green Lights
   3. Obtaining and Reviewing Medical Records
   4. How and When to Use Diagnostic Images
   5. Anatomy of Common Injuries
2. Investigation & Discovery: Experts, Depositions, and Technology
   11:30 - 12:15, James W. Balmer
   1. Selecting and Working With Medical Experts
   2. Getting Key Evidence from the Scene of the Accident
   3. Top Tips for Client Narratives, Statements, and Depositions
   4. Anticipating Common Evidentiary Objections Early
   5. Addressing and Disputing Smartphone/Text Evidence
   6. How Wearable Technology and Social Media Can Impact the Case
3. Unique Considerations in Truck Crash Cases
   12:30 - 1:00, Douglas R. Horn
   1. What Does the Investigation Entail?
   2. What's the Significance? Logbooks, Inspection Reports, and Black Boxes
   3. Common Issues in Evidence Preservation
   4. Insurance Coverage Pitfalls
4. Understanding Policies and Their Limits: UM/UIM, Umbrellas, and More
   1:00 - 1:30, James W. Balmer
   1. Liability Coverage: Bodily Injury and Property Damage
   2. Uninsured and Underinsured Coverage
   3. Personal Injury Protection
   4. Umbrella Policies
   5. Multiple Policyholders and Stacking
   6. Where to Look When Coverage is Insufficient
5. Assessing Damage in Motor Vehicle Cases
   2:00 - 2:45, Douglas R. Horn
   1. Key Case Law and State-By-State Considerations
   2. Reimbursement
   3. Future Medical Treatment
   4. Loss of Earning Capacity
   5. Pain and Suffering, Emotional Distress, and Loss of Companionship
   6. A Word on Wrongful Death
6. Preparing a TBI Case
   2:45 - 3:15, Douglas R. Horn
   1. Common Brain Injuries and Their Symptoms
   2. Choosing Expert and Lay Witnesses
   3. Differences in Building the Case
7. Negotiating, Settling, and Handling Liens
   3:15 - 3:45, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Strategies for Communicating With the Adjuster
   2. Timing the Demand With Medical Recovery and Petition
   3. Walking Through the Demand (With Sample Demand Package)
   4. How to Handle Medicare, Medicaid, and Medical Provider Liens
8. Trial and Mediation Strategies - Plaintiff and Defense Perspectives
   4:00 - 5:00, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Voir Dire
   2. Opening and Closing Statements
   3. Preparing and Questioning Medical Experts
   4. Preparing and Questioning Lay Witnesses
   5. Jury Instructions and Verdict Form
   6. Making the Most out of Mediation
9. Ethics
   5:00 - 6:00, Robert J. Kasieta
   1. Safeguarding Against Conflicts of Interest
   2. Dos and Don'ts of Attorney Fees and Collections
   3. Top Confidentiality Pitfalls
   4. Does the Work-Product Doctrine Cover Communications With Expert Witnesses?
   5. Ethical Concerns of the Tripartite Relationship
   6. Inadvertent Communications - Be Careful Who you "CC"

Accreditation Details:

JAMES W. BALMER is a founding partner of Falsani, Balmer, Peterson & Balmer, where he has represented thousands of people in all kinds of litigation, including jury trials, workers' compensation trials and hearings, Social Security disability hearings, and appeals in those areas. He has handled wrongful death, car crash, slip-and-fall, worksite injuries, defective product claims, dog attack, liquor liability claims and other kinds of bodily injury matters, as well as insurance coverage disputes, defamation claims, probate and trust disputes. Mr. Balmer is admitted to practice before all Minnesota and Wisconsin courts, both state and federal, and has tried cases throughout both states. He has argued cases before the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago and the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals based in St. Louis. Mr. Balmer has been selected as a Minnesota Super Lawyer annually beginning in 1998. He has been certified as a civil trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and by the Minnesota State Bar Association. Mr. Balmer has been honored as an advocate by the American Board of Trial Advocacy. He earned both his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Minnesota.

DOUGLAS R. HORN is the lead attorney of Horn Law. Since 1991, Mr. Horn has focused his practice on plaintiff's personal injury concentrating in cases involving motor vehicle collisions, work-related accidents, medical/medication error, and catastrophic injury handling cases in Missouri, Kansas, and throughout the Midwest. Mr. Horn is a regular National Business Institute CLE contributor, emphasizing his presentations in personal injury case development strategies. He earned his B.A. degree from Wittenberg University and his J.D. degree from Capital University Law School. Mr. Horn's detailed professional profile can be found on HornLaw.com.

ROBERT J. KASIETA is the founder of Kasieta Legal Group, LLC, in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a certified civil pretrial and trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocates. Mr. Kasieta practices in civil litigation, with an emphasis on plaintiff personal injury and employment cases, as well as commercial litigation. He has written and taught extensively in the areas of trial practice, personal injury law and insurance law, and is an instructor of trial practice at the University of Wisconsin Law School. Mr. Kasieta is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, and all Wisconsin courts. He is a member of the Dane County Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin, and the American Association for Justice. Mr. Kasieta earned his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from Northern Michigan University and his J.D. degree from Marquette University Law School.