FOCUS GROUPS BOOK

CHAPTER 13: DAMAGES FOCUS GROUP
What it is:
This chapter is all about assessing the broad topic of damages in your case. As will be covered,
some damages to be presented in your case will be easier to assess their importance through
focus groups, such as a death or clear-cut broken bone or amputaEon. But as we know, most
damage cases are not “clear-cut” and take precision to be presented and to prove not only their
extent but causaEon. This chapter will assist in both circumstances. We will give outlines to
more obviously sustained injuries, as well as those such as emoEonal and brain injuries that give
all aLorneys trouble.
I want to strongly emphasize an important point: do not be fooled that a damages focus group
is all about the impact on our client. If you are not familiar with the “intangible damages focus
group” that Mr. Keenan tags as one of the best, if not the best focus group he has ever done in
his career, we will be covering that as well. That focus group outline is provided below. That
focus group was for the purpose of assessing what the focus group thought and felt about a
client that suffered just forty-five days of pain and suffering before fully recovering. The
quesEon was to the focus group, do you care, and is this person enEtled to any damages at all? I
will save you the suspense and tell you that the answer is enErely in line with the Edge system.
The focus group was adamant, of course it maLered, and the reason? All because of the
fundamental principles of deterrence, accountability and ensuring that the failures did not go
unpunished, or it would happen again to someone else in their community.
PracEce Ep: With the above preface, a great focus group to combine with assessing the
damages, is the “what the jury gets out of the verdict” focus group. Also use the below
template quesEons regarding assessing damages in combinaEon with such focus groups as a
narraEve and in the opening statement focus group de-briefs.
When to do:
An Edge case is centered around the defendant’s bad acts, their violaEons of the safety rules
and the system failure that led to the damages that occurred. With this backdrop, it is important
that those elements of your case are developed in tandem, if not before, you start tesEng the
damages porEon of your case.
This is why the damages focus group is included in Stage Four of the liEgaEon phases. While a
necessary element of any negligence case, it is not our focus.