Court Exhibits - Raleigh Personal Injury Lawyers, HensonFuerst

When it comes to proving a case in court, lawyers need more than just a silver tongue. They need exhibits to show a judge or jury to help illustrate the important points of a case. In this video, managing partner David Henson shows you examples of accident reconstruction, animation, and other court exhibits used by the lawyers of HensonFuerst. If a picture paints a thousand words, this video is worth a thousand pictures.

(Principal office of Henson & Fuerst, PA: 2501 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, NC 27607)

Hi, this is David Henson with HensonFuerst Attorneys. Our firm was preparing for trial recently, and a client asked about court room exhibits, what they are, and how we decide which ones to use. I thought that was an interesting question, and figured it would be something fun to talk about in a video. Trial exhibits can be plane jane and simple, or they can be exciting and interesting (well, maybe to just a lawyer, but you get my drift).
First, what is an "exhibit"? An exhibit is a document or object that is used in court to prove your case to a judge or a jury. It can be a paper document, a video, a model, or practically anything that would help a jury decide a case fairly.
The most basic of exhibits are paper documents. For example, exhibits might include a client's set of medical records and bills, or a police report documenting a car wreck. Sometimes we may present the document as just a single 8x11 page, or as part of a group of documents in a notebook. Other times, we may present the exhibit it as a huge blow-up so that everyone in the courtroom can see it
An exhibit might also be a photograph or video, which might document the scene of a car wreck, or a set of injuries.
Alternatively, a court exhibit might be an anatomical model of the body. We use these in conjunction with the testimony of doctors to demonstrate to a jury how a joint in the body works, what the parts of the body are, or how a surgical procedure is done.
An exhibit may also be the actual equipment used in an examination or surgical procedure. For example, this is a rod that was inserted into a client's leg after she fractured her femur.
Similarly, we may use a model of bone, this particular one is called a "Saw Bone." These are designed so that the bones can be fractured in the same way that a bone was broken in a wreck. You have all heard the adage of "A picture speaks a thousand words" and these saw bones do that for me. There is no doubt that this fracture was painful.
In other videos we have talked a lot about the importance of accident reconstruction engineers, experts hired by lawyers to help figure out what really happened during the event that caused an injury. Those engineers often make video recreations like this one which shows happened during a wreck, to help the jury visualize exactly what happened.
Similarly, we also can use computer-generated animations of injuries and surgical procedures of our clients, like the one playing now.
At the end of the day, our job as lawyers is to ensure that we have communicated our client's case to the jury in the most effective way possible. At HensonFuerst Attorneys, we devote significant time and money to thinking through and investing in the proper exhibits that will best explain our client's injuries. That, in our opinion, is what separates an average firm from the leaders in the courtroom.