Articles by Levick Experts
Product Liability Litigation: Get Your Story Straight
April 23, 2009
From The Cat in the Hat to The Bourne Identity, Americans love a good story. We cheer the good guys, jeer the bad guys, feel sympathy for those who’ve been wronged and root for justice to be served. The human dramas that capture our attention are played out on the fictional stage of prime-time TV or the real-world newscasts that precede it each night.
Stories rule in the courtroom, too. From the O.J. Simpson trial, to the Scooter Libby litigation, to the Erin Brockovich case, juries and judges have time and again shown their attraction to powerful narratives. In the realm of product liability litigation, a keen understanding of this phenomenon gave the plaintiffs’ bar a leg up on the defense for years, as winning judgments and record-breaking settlements were handed down with increasing frequency at the close of the 20th century.