Verdict against Amtrak has attorneys talking

The recent $24 million verdict ($1.6 million in economic losses) against Amtrak has many attorneys talking. The following are listserv post by attorneys commenting on the case.

'What I find curious is that we rarely, if ever, hear about run-away juries going in the other direction--where there was, to common public perception, a legitimate and grievous injury, but the jury came back with nothing. Statistically, if there are instances of juries apparently going absurdly high, then there should be an equal number of juries apparently going absurdly low. That we hear only of the former is a possible indicator of media bias. '

-attorney, Atlanta, GA


'The verdict that was rendered was the work of 12 good men and women, I
suppose. Every time I hear about a runaway jury, I go back and think
that each juror is just like me. ...Verdicts like this do not usually come out of nowhere. They happen usually because a defendant has time and time again ignored an obvious problem that could have been fixed. '

-attorney, Atlanta, GA

'... NEVER EVER EVER take a burn case to trial. I mean, damages are awarded for PAIN AND SUFFERING. If a person gets money for a broken bone, how much more do they get for a burn? ... I think the defendant is so bound up with the liability analysis, they forget to step back and think how a jury is going to react to a guy with burns over 75% of his body. Their stomachs turn, they wince in fear to even imagine such a thing happening, they don't want to look at him and then they feel guilty... and they open up [the defendant's] pocketbook

-attorney, Pasendena,CA