When an injured party seeks legal counsel on a personal injury case, they are relying on the expertise of the attorney and legal team to mount the best case possible. The victim could be seeking monetary compensation to cover medical costs, recovery of lost wages, compensation for home modifications if the injury resulted in loss of mobility, or in cases that could be of importance to the general public, providing a platform to educate the community. And these are just a few possible outcomes.
The legal team needs to console the injured party, gather evidence, collect subject matter experts who can explain the injuries sustained and prepare a case where the jury will understand and retain the information presented at trial. How does an attorney ensure that the jury will hear and understand the evidence presented? By understanding the psychology of learning.
Studies of Learning Styles
Over the last 60 years, extensive research has been done to determine the ways individuals comprehend information presented to them.These studies identified three primary ways humans absorb and retain information: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic learning styles.
Individuals who are more apt to respond to the Visual learning style will use graphs, charts, colors and other visual cues to remember information. For those who respond to an Auditory learning style will comprehend information through conversations both listening and speaking or group discussion.They may be more attuned to audible cues such as music. The third way, Kinesthetic learning, involves individuals carrying out physical activities to understand the information.
Results of these studies not only determined the key factors for each learning style but also that 75% of individuals are either Visual learners or Visual/Auditory learners. With this information, the legal team is armed with valuable information on how to develop and present their case. Besides finding experienced and engaging experts, the visual aids needed become an equally important piece of the strategy. These visual aids can be 2-dimensional colorized photos, charts, graphs or timelines of the incident and recovery, but also can and should include animated videos and/or actual footage to support the verbal testimony.
Besides the way an individual absorbs information, there is also a factor as to how long an individual will retain that information. On average, any individual after 72-hours will retain 10% of what they hear and 20% of what they see. But combining both Visual and Auditory elements can result in a higher percentage of information retained after the 72-hour mark.
Medical Graphics Experts
Finding an experienced medical graphics expert is as important to the legal team as is finding experts to testify. Getting recommendations and seeing samples of the various graphics options is important.In Central NJ, a small but experienced medical graphics business has been a mainstay for many attorneys in NJ, NY and PA for nearly 25 years. Certified Medical Illustrations is a leader in the medical graphics field with experienced graphics artists and customer service representatives who assist in creating the right graphics for your case. There is a simple 4-step process used to launch and complete a project.
Learn more about the various products and services available or to request a free quote, visit: http://certifiedmedicalillustrations.com or call: +888-999-0410.
Resources:
Bodine, Larry (15 August, 2014) The Benefits of Using Visual Aids With ExpertTestimony
(29 May 2000) Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learning Styles (VAK)