1) Have all drivers listed.

Check your policy carefully on each renewal to make sure that all licensed operators of your vehicle are listed and shown on the policy.

For example – The vehicle and insurance is shown in the husbands name yet no where on the policy is the wife’s name even mentioned though she has driven for 25 years accident free. What if another car was bought for her and she has no previous insurance experience to confirm? Under age drivers(25 yrs old) might be another
area of concern. People might believe they are saving money by not showing them as operators? What happens when they do get their own vehicle and can not provide accident free insurance experience – high rates or no coverage available.

2) NSF Payment Cancellations.

Be responsible on payments for your auto insurance. Cancellations for non payment, non sufficient fund cancellations can be very negative and costly to you. It may even limit what insurance company you can place your insurance with.

3) Depreciation – what may happen on a claim?

Being prepared and knowledgeable can make a big difference with the results of an auto claim.

For example- If your car tires are stolen and you report a loss under your comprehensive coverage your tires would not be replaced at full value. Such factors as age, condition, usage, wear and tear come into play. To protect yourself keep the original bill of sale and have written on it the actual mileage of the vehicle at the time of installation by the tire installer.

4) What can I do to keep the cost of insurance down?

Contact your broker and discuss how your use of the vehicle(s) at present is rated and how your insurance company classes are determined. A potential problem could arise at the time of loss if your use is not properly classified. Also, you could be paying extra money by being improperly rated.

5) What happens if I withhold information?

Figures released by the Insurance Advisory Organization (IAO) suggest that a significant percentage of both personal and commercial policyholders are not disclosing past claims to their insurers when arranging insurance. Whether the non-disclosure occurring is due to genuine errors, insufficient information being requested, or deliberately omitted, the real problem is that your insurance company may deny your claim because you did not disclose important information. 

               In this case, Plaintiff’s counsel takes the “picture on the puzzle box” analogy, commonly used to describe opening statements, and uses it as the basis for an attack on the defendant’s key evidence: the conclusions of a police investigator based on observations of the accident scene. While holding up for the jury the top of an actual puzzle box, plaintiff’s counsel alleges that because the skid-mark evidence had deteriorated before the observations were made, the police investigator was missing important pieces of the factual puzzle, and could not offer a true picture of what happened. Plaintiff’s counsel instead emphasizes the reliable accident reconstruction evidence to be presented by plaintiff’s “specialists.” At the end of the trial, the jury returned a $5.5 million verdict for plaintiff, with no reduction for comparative negligence.

When the doorbell rings at the Marca home in Deming, New Mexico, it does no good for Edwardo Marca to respond, he cannot open the door.

When the phone rings, Edwardo Marca does not answer it; he can not reach the phone.

When Edwardo Marca’s children need him in their bedrooms- Edwardo Jr., 17, years old, Christina, 14, and Jose, 8- Edwardo Marca cannot help them; his wheelchair cannot fit through the doors.

Edwardo Marca cannot get around without his wheelchair. He is almost as dependent on his wheelchair as he is on everyone around him for each and every one of his needs. The burden falls heaviest on his wife, Felicia, God bless her.

Edwardo Marca is quadriplegic, paralyzed.

He was not always this way, and the how and why he got that way is what this case is all about.

How is an easier proposition: Edwardo Marca was gravely injured in a car-truck wreck on Southwells Road, Grant County, New Mexico, shortly after three p.m. on May 18, 1992. The car that Edwardo Marca was driving met and had a sideswipe collision with a truck owned by Palumbo Electric and driven by Danny Montrose. The exact cause of the crash is in dispute. But you will find no dispute as to the fact that Edwardo Marca’s injuries were caused by eight-foot crossarms, extending out sideways off of the Palumbo Electric truck.

Why Edwardo Marco was injured is a question that this trial will answer.

At this beginning point of the trial, it is my job to guide you to the answer that will become clear by the end of the trial by alerting you to the evidence that you can expect to see and hear during this trial. Lawyers refer to an opening statement as a roadmap. I’ve heard others call it a bird’s eye view of the evidence. The bird’s eye view is helpful here.

Please imagine if you will, having a bird’s eye view of south west New Mexico on May 18, 1992. The following events would unfold: While a healthy 35-year-old, Edwardo Marca was pridefully working at Smith & Company smelter, 80 miles southwest of Deming, four Palumbo Electric employees were tying a truck. Danny Montrose was going to drive that truck from Deming to Animas, New Mexico. Palumbo Electric had a safety manual that clearly warned against that load. The crew did not think about safety; they did not care about safety. After the load was tied, Danny Montrose began driving to Animas at approximately two p.m.

While the truck was set on its course, approximately three p.m., Edwardo Marca began driving home to Deming with his car pool members. Edwardo Marca turned east on South Wells Road, for a change. [Those three words, “for a change,” quietly add drama, without melodrama.]

Danny Montrose turned west on South Wells Road, because he considered it to be a short cut to Animas. South Wells Road is a rough gravel road, It varies from 14 feet to 17 feet in width, and has one set of rut tracks on the south side. Because of the growth, it has limited sight distance. This road is not suitable for commercial type trucks, especially a truck loaded like Montrose’s.

Edwardo Marco approached the curve where the wreck was to occur at approximately 35 miles per hour; he began to slow.

Passenger Ronnie Quinto saw the truck through the bushes and said, “una troca”, which is Spanish for “a truck.”

Edwardo Marca slowed more as he moved closer to the right edge of the road. It is important to note that there is no sense of panic or fear from Edwardo or the passengers.

Danny Montrose approached the curve, in his words, “running approximately 35 miles per hour,” and because he was driving in the ruts on the south side of the road, he was on the wrong side of the road. As he entered the actual curve, Danny Montrose began to move toward his side of the road. You will find his truck to be at an angle at impact.

The drivers saw each other at about 100 feet from the point of impact. With approximately two seconds or less, neither driver could prevent the sideswipe contact which ensued. What should have been a relatively minor accident with little or no injury, turned out to be a disastrous one for Edwardo Marca. The vehicles slid against one another- Edwardo Marca’s left front wheel was torn off by the truck tool box and the sheet metal was torn. As the vehicles began to separate, the crossarms slammed violently against the top of the little car’s windshield, breaking Edwardo Marca’s neck. [Because the effects of the accident on the plaintiff’s life were described in the first sentence of the opening, there is no need to discuss them here. Instead, counsel can proceed directly from the image and sound of a neck breaking, to the key question of who is to blame for this.]

We will show you that all of Edwardo Marca’s injuries were caused by, number one, the grossly negligent manner that the truck was loaded in violation of the safety manual; two, the unsafe route taken by Danny Montrose; and three, that Danny Montrose was driving on the wrong side of the road prior to the collision.

To prove this, we have to tell you that we have some bad facts. After everything was done, a state police, Officer Crotty, did an investigation. Now, Officer Crotty does not work for any party. [By this statement, counsel implies that he has nothing personal against this public servant; it’s just that the officer’s conclusions are wrong.] Officer Crotty found what he believed to be 90 feet of skid marks on the gravel road which he attributed to Edward Marca’s car. However, you will see that identifying and measuring skid marks on dirt gravel roads is practically impossible, especially at this scene where no fewer than 12 vehicles drove through it from the time of the wreck until Officer Crotty took his measurements.

[Spoken while holding up puzzle box cover:] Some lawyers say that an opening statement is like showing the jury the picture on the puzzle box cover to help them put together the puzzle- I agree. Especially in this case, because it compares well with Officer Crotty trying to interpret what was on this dirt-gravel roadway. Officer Crotty did not have the benefit of the picture on the puzzle box.

In fact, some of the pieces of the puzzle were lost in the dirt. Officer Crotty did the best that he could, but because of the difficulty of the terrain, we have asked specialists in the field, called accident reconstructionalists, to assist you in putting together this puzzle.

After you put together the parts of the puzzle on how and why this wreck happened, you will be called upon to complete the total of the puzzle by putting the pieces of Edwardo Marca’s life back as best as you can with a fair and adequate verdict.

We do not ask for sympathy, we only ask for justice. Not partial justice or compromised justice- 100% complete justice.

Thank you.

                                                                                                -Angel L. Saenz

This material is reprinted as published in Opening Statements, with permission of Thomson Reuters.

-Introduction

                The Introduction consists of two parts. The first is an opening sentence stating what the case is about. It should include: (1) what the defendant did wrong; (2) what happened to the plaintiff as a result of the defendant’s wrongful act; (3) the legal basis for the case; and (4) the type and severity of the plaintiff’s injuries. For example:

Ladies and gentlemen, this case involves Peter Jones. A six-year-old boy who, on June 16, 1979, lost his right eye when the defendant carelessly and without warning fired a .22 caliber rifle at him.

Members of the jury, on May 1, 1977, Mr. Jones, the plaintiff, was stopped at a red light when his car was slammed in the rear by the speeding and inattentive defendant. As a result, Mr. Jones suffered a broken back and is afflicted with pain which will continue for as long as he lives.

                Following this opening sentence the attorney should briefly explain what will happen as the trial unfolds. Here, counsel should make his only reference to the fact that the opening statement is not evidence and is only a statement of what he expects to prove during the trial. Having done this, the attorney should tell the jury about the order of the trial. The attorney can use the opportunity to explain the order of trial to accomplish one of the purposes of the opening statement, namely, to make the jurors feel included and less uncertain about what is occurring and their role in the proceedings.

                Point out that after the opening statements the trial itself will begin and the evidence will be produced. Each of the sources of evidence should be identified and defined. Testimony can be defined as the evidence the jury will hear directly from the witnesses. The jury should be told what depositions and interrogatories are and that the answers given to deposition questions and interrogatories are made under oath. If reading from a deposition is to serve in lieu of live testimony, the jury should be informed that this does not detract from its credibility or cause it to be any less worthy of their attention. Exhibits can be defined as things which the jury can see, for example, photographs and diagrams, or documents which contain important and relevant facts. You may also want to explain to the jury the piecemeal fashion in which evidence is introduced.

                Finally, a brief description of the remaining trial activities should be given, such as final arguments, jury instructions and deliberation.

                After this introductory portion of the opening statement, counsel should present the parties and witnesses to the jury.

                The particular form of the introduction will vary according to the specifics of the case at hand, and the personal style of the lawyer. For example, it can be effective to start with a gripping description of an aspect of the accident or of the plaintiff’s present condition:

When the doorbell rings at the Marca home in Deming, New Mexico, it does no good for Edwardo Marca to respond, he cannot open the door.

When the phone rings, Edwardo Marca does not answer it; he can not reach the phone.

When Edwardo Marca’s children need him in their bedrooms- Edwardo Jr., 17, years old, Christina, 14, and Jose, 8- Edwardo Marca cannot help them; his wheelchair cannot fit through the doors.

Edwardo Marca cannot get around without his wheelchair. He is almost as dependent on his wheelchair as he is on everyone around him for each and every one of his needs. The burden falls heaviest on his wife, Felicia, God bless her.

Edwardo Marca is quadriplegic, paralyzed.

 He was not always this way, and the how and why he got that way is what this case is all about.

                                                                                -Angel L. Saenz

This material is reprinted as published in Opening Statements, with permission of Thomson Reuters.

Other than your medical bills your lost time and earnings commonly called lost wages are the days and hours you were unable to work due to injury and medical appointments. In many instances you can claim your lost time and earnings, even if you’ve had no actual loss of money. For example, when your salary is paid because you have taken sick leave, or because of an Accident and Health Policy that is available to you.

DOCUMENTATION OF LOST INCOME: If you are regularly employed by someone else, ask your supervisor, to write a letter for you, on company stationary. This letter should include: Your name, position, rate of pay, number of hours you normally work and the number of days, and/or weeks, you missed because of the accident.

Be ready to discuss with the insurance adjuster the following:

#1. If your work demands heavy labor and/or lifting.

#2. If you lost any vacation time or sick leave.

#3. If there was any loss of future earning capacity.

#4. If you were absent from one or more business meetings.

#5. If you were unable to make appointments with important or potential customers.

#6. If you had an opportunity for an interview that may have led to a better job.

SHOULD YOU BE SELF-EMPLOYED OR OWN A BUSINESS: Be sure to collect for the cost of any additional help you were forced to hire while undergoing medical treatment and/or recuperating. PREPARE YOURSELF AND BE READY TO DISCUSS: If your work demands heavy labor or lifting, how many hours you normally work each day and week, your average income per week, if your business lost money while you were laid up, and have proof as to how much.

To substantiate your claim you should consider presenting to the adjuster whatever documents will prove a loss in billing or services. Two simple examples would be:

#1. A diary or calendar showing appointment’s you had to cancel.

#2. Letters (or documents) which clearly reflect the reality of important business meetings you had no choice but were unable to attend.

COMMISSIONS AND OVERTIME: Commissions and overtime are absolutely legitimate losses you can claim. Be sure to obtain a letter from your employer, on his letterhead, spelling out the approximate amount of money you lost in commissions and overtime. This can be accomplished by reviewing last year’s figures, during the same period, then averaging them out for that identical space in time you were unable to work.

Be sure to collect for the full Gross wage’s you lost, not just the Net.