Forensic psychologists can significantly increase damages and awards in class
Forensic psychologists can significantly increase damages and awards in class-action and mass tort cases. This is an area of damages often ignored by attorneys; there is a sense that it will affect little change in the outcome of the settlement and that is not feasible and cost-effective to evaluate hundreds of plaintiffs in a timely and efficient fashion. At the Atrium, we have nearly one hundred psychiatric, psychological and neuropsychological experts. This gives us the capacity to evaluate many plaintiffs over a small period of time.
An attorney with whom we work, Scott Schutzman (http://www.scottschutzman.com), is an expert in cemetery desecration cases, as well as class action suits and legislative changes. He recently served as legal editor in a new and highly respected cemetery management industry guide, “Traversing The Minefield” by Michael Kubasak.
In the recent California case of Terry Barnes et al. v. Angeles Abbey Memorial Park et al., Mr. Schutzman represented 257 plaintiffs in a $5.1 million dollar award. The average award per plaintiff was $20,000. On average, plaintiffs who used pyschological experts doubled their awards.
This was attributable to the fact that the experts were able to flesh out, in a vivid and detailed fashion, the psychological difficulties faced by these plaintiffs. The psychologists were also able to point to psychological testing which gave objective support to their opinions and deeply impressed the jury.
Even when the plaintiffs had pre-existing psychological problems, the doctors were able to specify how and why the negligence of the cemetery staff caused specific emotional psychological damages.
We invite attorneys to contact us for an in-depth complimentary consultation on these and other matters.