A broken sidewalk left like a "jigsaw puzzle" became the foundation of an $8.2 million verdict for Tim Garvey and Greg Bentley. Representing a 60-year-old man who suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury after falling on the sidewalk, Tim and Greg sued the telecommunications company and general contractor that had torn it up to install fiber optic infrastructure. In this case breakdown moderated by host Keith Fuicelli, the trial team reveals their strategies, including confronting deponents with their statements on a PowerPoint and using red masking tape on a model skeleton to show injuries. For a unique approach to damages, Keith encourages listeners to check out Sari de la Motte’s podcast episode where guest Christy Crowe Childers describes her “Damages House” strategy.

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Episode Snapshot

• In this case, a man riding his personal e-scooter was thrown face-first when he hit a sidewalk that had been left uneven and broken after a fiber optic project.
• One takeaway from suing under the Colorado Premises Liability Act, Tim suggests, is that plaintiffs’ lawyers try to keep negligence claims “until they either prove to you that it can't be a negligence claim or the court tells you it can't be a negligence claim.”
• Tim and Greg's multimedia trial presentation approach incorporated video depositions, PowerPoint, king boards, and a model skeleton they named “Skeletor.”
• To head off the suggestion that their client “did something wrong,” the team worked with trial consultant Jesse Wilson to prepare him for testifying.
• Using Jessica Brylo for focus groups and big data studies helped the team refine damage asks, prioritize voir dire questions, and predict jury apportionment.
• The $8.2 million verdict breakdown: $4.2 million in economic damages (fully awarded), $2 million in non-economic damages, and $2 million in impairment damages.
• The jury apportioned 35% of responsibility each to the general contractor and subcontractor, 15% to the city of Denver, and 15% to plaintiff.
• Other takeaways: making trials multimedia experiences, guarding against jurors "backing into" damage numbers rather than evaluating each category separately, and achieving exceptional results with teamwork.