Situation
Founded in 1917, Naman, Howell, Smith, & Lee is one of the oldest law firms in Texas. With offices throughout the state, members of the full-service firm leverage its storied heritage and the perspective it provides while continuing to meet clients’ needs.
In a recent case, the firm represented a trucking company after one of the company’s trucks was involved in a low-speed collision. The plaintiff’s demand for alleged injuries was in the eight-figure range.
"The law firm needed an expert who could analyze the facts of the case, identify the physical forces required to cause the alleged injuries, and help connect the dots for the jury."
“In this case, our objective was to find an expert who could look into the forces involved and educate our client, and ultimately a jury, on whether our client could have caused the alleged injuries,” said managing member Shane O’Dell. “We’re certainly not medical and biomechanical experts, so it’s critical that we have a qualified expert whose testimony could be admissible at trial.” The firm knew exactly who to contact—it’s worked with BRC for more than ten years.
“This was the exact type of case that we would reach out to BRC for help understanding whether we have a good defense to the plaintiff’s claims,” said Shane.
Solution
BRC has analyzed and reconstructed incidents across the world for more than thirty-seven years, and its consultants have provided expert testimony in nearly two thousand trials. Firms trust BRC because its consultants have applied the science of biomechanics to objectively analyze various complex kinetic events, such as automobile accidents, to provide accurate and reliable expert testimony.
In this case, BRC provided Naman, Howell, Smith, & Lee with a certified accident reconstructionist who was both a medical doctor and an engineer. This consultant was able to speak intelligently about the physical forces that are required to cause certain types of injuries and help connect the dots for the jury.
“As with every other case, we were looking for an honest and objective answer to whether we have a good defense,” said Shane. “We didn’t go to the BRC team with a particular outcome. We wanted them to follow the facts of the case and tell us what physics and science reveal. It’s then up to us to decide whether those facts will be helpful or harmful to our case. Their response helps me identify strengths and weaknesses in my case and decide on a path forward.”
Shane found BRC’s role in the case helpful, and he and his client were satisfied with the outcome. Naman, Howell, Smith, and Lee continues to use consultants supplied by BRC because the firm believes them to be uniquely qualified to analyze the facts of incidents from a medical and engineering perspective.
