Challenging Conservative Legal Trends in Idaho Falls

By Brad Parkinson | Published on February 15, 2012 | 0 Comments

At Petersen Parkinson & Arnold, where Brad Parkinson is a personal injury attorney in Idaho Falls, certain consistent legal measures must be taken in order to respond to obvious trends in workers’ compensation and social security & disability cases. Specifically, Parkinson finds it often necessary to challenge the rulings of judges and juries because of their conservative trends in this Rocky Mountain state.

Before deciding when and how to challenge a settlement or a jury’s possibly conservative-minded decision, Parkinson and his lawyers compare what they think the jury would realistically award the plaintiff in a trial versus what they think the plaintiff deserves to recover. This is a difficult spot for an Idaho Falls personal injury attorney because of the apparent split in points of view here. The fact is, people are truly injured, and they legally—rightfully—deserve some remedy or compensation for the pain, aggravation, setbacks, and fear they have encountered.

All too often, says Parkinson, he and his lawyer take a look at a potential clients’ case and come to the conclusion that the jury probably would not award their client any remedies to damages suffered. Remember, when the Idaho Falls personal injury attorney is talking about damages, they are physical damages resulting from the defendant’s risk taking or negligence. Parkinson says that many local juries have simply never been in the shoes of an injured worker. This is fortunate for them—nobody wants someone to experience the same kind of hurt they experienced—but at the same time, it would definitely help injured workers recover damages commensurate with their suffering if members of the juries on these trials had experienced some sort of equal or comparable event.

But there’s another local cultural phenomenon that Parkinson believes keeps juries unsympathetic to personal injury cases. As Parkinson says, people around Idaho Falls are pretty tough. They believe that, as negative things happen to everybody, one must pick themselves up, move on, stay tough, fight through adversity, and grow in the process. It’s an emphasis on self reliance and perseverance that keeps juries unsympathetic to many personal injury cases. They would rather see the plaintiff accept the bad lot and do the best with the situation. Of course, as any Idaho Falls personal injury attorney can explain, it’s not so easy to pick up the pieces when a personal injury bars somebody from practicing their factory job ever again—a job that was the source of their livelihood.

In addition; if there’s anybody who knows this local culture well, it’s insurance companies. From the outset, insurance companies will offer an extremely low compensation for personal injury, knowing that if the case couldn’t be settled out of court, a jury would more or less not care so much to judge in favor of the plaintiff. Unfortunately, this trend can force an Idaho Falls personal injury attorney to closely scrutinize the details of every potential personal injury case. A lawyer like Parkinson has to level with the fact that many forces are against him; the juries are not too interested in awarding remedies to personal injury cases, and insurance companies—knowing this—do not offer what Parkinson thinks is just compensation because of the legal safety net they have. As a result, Parkinson and his lawyers are only able to take on cases they know they can sell to a jury. Determining that will be in the details.

*Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. You should not rely on this article as a legal opinion on any specific facts or circumstances, and you should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. Publication of this article and your receipt of this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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