Recently, my dad, Jere Beasley, and I tried the case of Deal v. Rite Aid Corp. for the second time in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama. The first trial ended in a mistrial after one juror refused to discuss the case and would not return a verdict in favor of the Plaintiffs under any circumstance. The case involved a misfilled prescription which Rite Aid gave to Mrs. Jewell Deal of Andalusia, Alabama.

How do you protect your client in negotiating personal injury settlements in view of Powell v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Alabama, 581 So. 2d 772 (Ala. 1990)? This question arises in a majority of personal injury lawsuits today. Consequently, lawyers for both plaintiffs and defendants must consider and address the issue of subrogation early in each case. In this article, I will briefly discuss the various aspects of the insurer's "subrogation claim" and how to prepare for a Powell hearing.

The opening statement is the springboard from which the plaintiff's attorney educates the jury on a nursing home's liability and persuades the jury that a verdict in favor of the plaintiff is the only way to serve justice. While an opening statement has several important goals, the ultimate goal of a successful opening statement is to marshal the significant points of the case, and develop the bond of trust created with the jurors in voir dire into a vehicle through which to express your theory of liability in such a way as to create a paradigm in the juror's minds that the only just and fair resolution of the case is a verdict in favor of the plaintiff. This vehicle is created by (1) conveying a particular theme to the jury from the beginning until the end of trial; and (2) highlighting faults in key defense issues and common defense ploys intended to shift liability away from the nursing home.

Approximately twenty-five thousand people in Alabama wake up everyday in a nursing home, dependent on others to meet most or all of their needs. They are a helpless, vulnerable population whose numbers will increase dramatically in coming years as the baby boomers begin entering retirement. This oncoming growth will require that the quality and quantity of care offered by nursing homes be increased proportionately.

As you voir dire and pick your next jury in a nursing home trial, you should be mindful of the fact that in recent years the jurors sitting in front of you have likely been bombarded by a national tort reform campaign that has convinced many that our country is in crisis due to frivolous litigation.