Episode # 19 • 11 Jul 2024
'Nuclear' Verdicts
with Dusty Otwell, Dr. Gita Pensa
The phrase "nuclear verdict" strikes fear into the heart of any defendant - and today we're going to tackle it head on.
We welcome Dusty Otwell, JD, medical malpractice defense attorney and Chief Risk Officer of UCACS, to the podcast to discuss “nuclear," "runaway jury," or aberration verdicts. These are jury awards to the plaintiff, given at trial, that well exceed predictions. They tend to make headlines, create fear among doctors and other providers, and lead other parties to dream of giant jackpots.
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More about this episode
In this episode we discuss:
• Societal trends that may be fostering the increase in aberration verdicts
• How we can mitigate our fear around the possibility of an aberration verdict
• What happens after an aberration verdict: post-trial negotiations, and real-sizing the risk to your personal assets
• Why defendants should feel empowered to speak up, request preparation, and ask for 'financial risk estimates'
• The ‘reptile theory’ deployed at trial by plaintiff’s attorneys, and how tapping into the general anger in society fuels their persuasion
• Why and how defense teams need to evolve to combat these tactics
• Now, more than ever, preparation of the defendant should be paramount and start EARLY in the case.
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