Why Personal Injury Attorneys Should Use Medical Illustrations

Personal injury cases often involve complex medical details that may be challenging for jurors, judges, and even legal professionals to fully comprehend. In such instances, the use of medical illustrations becomes a powerful tool to bridge the gap between intricate medical concepts and the need for clear communication within the legal realm. Medical illustrations are visual representations of complex medical concepts, procedures, or anatomical structures. In the context of personal injury cases, these illustrations fall under the category of demonstrative evidence, meaning they serve to convey the extent of injuries, medical procedures, and the impact of negligence or wrongful actions on the plaintiff’s health. They play a crucial role in simplifying complex medical information.

As an experienced personal injury attorney, I have had the opportunity to work with several experts in the field of medical illustration. I have interviewed two of the best medical illustrators on my podcast, After the Crash. On the second episode of my podcast, I interviewed Bob Shepherd, an award-winning medical legal illustrator, the prior head of one of the biggest medical illustration companies in North America, MediVisuals, Inc., about the use of medical illustrations in personal injury cases. And just recently on episode 40 of my podcast, I interviewed Stephen Mader, a well-known and nationally recognized certified medical illustrator, and president of the medical illustration company, Artery Studios, Inc.. These podcasts are a great resource for understanding the importance of medical illustrations in personal injury cases. I would recommend watching them on Youtube or on my website because of the visual component of the podcast.

What are Medical Illustrations in Personal Injury Cases

1. Anatomical Diagrams: Medical illustrations often include detailed anatomical diagrams that highlight the specific body parts affected by an injury. For instance, in a traumatic personal injury case involving a fractured spine, an illustration may depict the spine’s structure, indicating the exact location and nature of the fracture. Medical illustrations offer a level of anatomical accuracy that photographs, or verbal descriptions may lack. This precision allows for a clear depiction of the specific injuries suffered by the plaintiff.

 

Diagram provided by Artery Studios, Inc. showing a cervical spine injury

Injury Progression Timelines: Chronic injuries or conditions may require illustrations that depict the progression of the injury over time. For instance, in a case involving a delayed diagnosis leading to exacerbated injuries, a timeline illustration can visually convey the worsening condition, emphasizing the need for timely medical intervention. Bob Shepherd told me during his podcast appearance that “We’ve had mediators tell us repeatedly how helpful they are in their decision-making process, not only in the injuries but how you can correlate an aggravation of a pre-existing injury to a traumatic event. In those situations, especially, visuals are really helpful because sometimes it’s just hard for somebody without the medical knowledge to grasp the subtleties in how that can happen.” This narrative approach helps in illustrating the progression of injuries, the impact on the victim’s life, and the need for ongoing medical care.

Example of an animation from MediVisuals showing an injury progression in a client’s knee

2. Surgical Procedures: In personal injury cases requiring surgeries, medical illustrations can break down complex procedures into digestible visuals. This includes illustrations of the surgical site, tools used, and step-by-step depictions of the medical interventions undertaken. Such visuals enhance comprehension and aid in establishing the necessity of the procedures. Shepherd discussed the importance of demonstrating the impact of surgeries in a personal injury case,” When we look at the surgeries, we’re looking at those as the second traumatic event. You have the first traumatic event that hurts a plaintiff, and then you have the second traumatic event, which oftentimes is even more injurious than the first injury, where they go in, and they cut soft tissues. They retract them. They put in hardware and screws. It’s not just that it’s in there, it’s how it gets in there. There’s a lot of force and trauma. Then, there’s permanent scar tissue that’s in there, all around that when it’s over. If you don’t put the emphasis on how it gets in there, it falls short.” Without an illustration, animation, or 3D model showing the impact of the surgical procedure, the case loses a very important factor showing the client’s struggles and the impact a surgical procedure can have on them for the rest of their life.

Example of a surgical procedure animation from Artery Studios, Inc. demonstrating how medical illustrations help the jury understand how invasive surgery is, leaving the patient with permanent scar tissue.

3. Comparative Visuals: Comparative medical illustrations are valuable in highlighting the difference between a healthy anatomical structure and one affected by injury. For example, a comparison between a healthy spinal disc and one herniated due to a personal injury can effectively demonstrate the impact on the plaintiff’s health.
4. Mechanism of Injury Graphics: Understanding the mechanism of injury is crucial in personal injury cases. Medical illustrations can depict the dynamics of an accident, such as a car crash or workplace incident, illustrating how the force and impact led to specific injuries. This aids in establishing causation and liability. These graphics can be presented via reenactment animation of the cause of the injury, making the jurors able to empathize much more than just telling the jurors what happened.

Example of a mechanism of injury graphic from Artery Studios, Inc.

How Do Medical Illustrations Help in a Personal Injury Case?

Enhancing Juror Understanding

One of the primary challenges in personal injury cases is ensuring that jurors comprehend the medical nuances associated with the injuries. Personal injury cases often involve intricate medical details that may be challenging to convey through verbal descriptions alone. Stephen Mader explained to me that as a medical illustrator, “We can take CT scans that very, very few people can understand, except for specialists, and we put those into a 3D format, a print that people can readily appreciate what it is that this significant trauma was. Medical illustrations serve as powerful visual aids that simplify complex medical information, making it more accessible and understandable for individuals without a medical background.

 

Shepherd emphasizes the impact that medical illustrations have on jurors saying, “What we do is take the scans, the MRIs that are hard for people to understand what they’re looking at. Then, we take those illustrations or those scans, the slices, the x-rays, and then create an illustration based on those that, in three dimensions, help people that don’t have the knowledge and experience of reading films. It helps them understand what they’re looking at.” In fact, Mader calls this moment, when the jurors can comprehend this complex information due to the medical illustration the “eureka” moment.

Example of an Xray shown next to a medical illustration from MediVisuals

demonstrating how medical illustrations facilitate understanding of complex medical scans.

Facilitating Expert Testimonies

Expert witnesses, such as medical professionals, often play a pivotal role in personal injury cases. Medical illustrations complement expert testimonies by providing a visual aid that supports and reinforces the expert’s analysis and opinions. This collaboration between expert opinions and visual aids reinforces the credibility of the case. It is necessary for medical illustrations to maintain accuracy. Bob Shepherd expanded on the need for accuracy, stating that “When you’re asking a credible witness to look at a drawing and say, “Is this a fair and accurate depiction,” that’s his reputation on the line. If it’s not accurate, you’re asking him to commit perjury, in my eyes. So, it’s very important that everything be right, because if the illustration isn’t credible, then our expert loses his credibility. When he uses loses his credibility, you lose your credibility and the client’s whole case loses their credibility.”

 

When I had just begun trying cases, I made the mistake of choosing a medical illustrator that presented me with a surgical illustration that depicted the incorrect surgical tool being used; I showed this illustration to the doctor, and he told me it wasn’t correct. That doctor immediately looked at me differently because I had not accurately depicted the surgery that he had performed. Hence, this story taught me the lesson of how important accuracy is for expert witnesses.

 

On the flip side, Shepherd explained how much medical illustrations that are accurate assist in gaining an expert witness’s trust, “When they see an accurate diagram, they build confidence. They’re more willing to help you. It’s amazing to me. I talk to doctors on a regular ongoing basis, and they don’t see good medical illustrations. When they do, they are amazed and impressed.”

 

Establishing Causation

 

Proving causation is a fundamental aspect of personal injury litigation. Medical illustrations can help establish a clear link between the defendant’s actions or negligence and the injuries suffered by the plaintiff. Shepherd emphasized how an accurate medical illustration can make the connection between an attorney’s legal arguments and the plaintiff’s injuries, “A lot of times, the attorney will have a great conceptual idea of what he’d like to show, but it’s not really solid with facts. If we can get a good conception of what an attorney wants, then we can work with the attorney and come up with telling the story, educating a jury in a way that they can understand, a lot of times, very complicated things. Then, it closes the deal because seeing is believing.” Visualizing the cause-and-effect relationship is persuasive and strengthens the argument for liability.

Animation provided by Artery Studios, Inc. showcasing how the original impact, or negligence by the defense, caused the exact injuries the plaintiff suffered that are shown on the medical scans, establishing causation.

Humanizing the Plaintiff’s Experience

 

Catastrophic injuries can have profound physical and emotional consequences. Medical illustrations humanize the plaintiff’s experience by vividly portraying the severity of injuries. As an experienced medical illustrator, Mader explains, “When people are told a story, they remember a limited percentage of that. When they’re shown a story, they remember significantly more.” Hence, medical illustrations can build the connection between the plaintiff and a jury, making jurors more engaged in the plaintiff’s story. This visual representation fosters empathy among judges and jurors, emphasizing the impact on the individual’s life.

 

Supporting Negotiations and Settlements

 

In addition to their impact in the courtroom, medical illustrations can also be potent negotiation tools during mediation. When seeking a settlement, presenting compelling visuals can strengthen the plaintiff’s position, encouraging fair compensation without the need for a trial. Medical illustrations simplify the plaintiff’s story into an easy-to-understand format, which makes the attorney’s job much easier. Mader says that as a medical illustrator, he saves the attorney “vast amounts of time of reading, presenting, and orally describing all this information.”

 

Medical illustrations can show injuries that may not be visible on a CT scan or MRI, by showing minute details of the brain. Mader states that “CT scans and MRI scans don’t necessarily show the microscopic, cellular injury details. They’re not fine enough to pick up on little breaks in the cells like are happening here with brain cells that are called neurons, and their little extensions, called axons, being broken here, and causing this kind of damage in the brain.” The medical illustrator’s ability to show proof of injuries that aren’t visible on scans can provide an attorney who uses medical illustrations with more negotiating power than one who doesn’t. Demonstrating that a plaintiff has more severe injuries than what is stated on paper can help to increase the amount offered by the insurance company at mediation.

They provide a persuasive visual representation that can influence opposing parties to recognize the seriousness of the injuries and consider a fair settlement. Beyond liability, medical illustrations are instrumental in demonstrating the impact of injuries on the victim’s life. This, in turn, influences the calculation of damages, including medical expenses, loss of earning capacity, and the intangible costs associated with pain and suffering.

An animation provided by Medivisuals that depicts neuron death in a brain injury demonstrating how medical illustrations show microscopic injuries that are difficult for a jury to interpret on a MRI or CT scan.

The Best Personal Injury Attorneys Hire A Medical Illustrator

The most successful attorneys in personal injury litigation are those who recognize the importance of medical illustrations to their client’s case. Bob Shepherd explains during Episode 2 of my podcast that hiring a medical illustrator will provide an attorney with a great return on investment. He recommends the use of medical illustrations in personal injury cases, urging that, “I think that’s important for ordinary people to know and ask their lawyers, “Hey, have you thought about a medical illustration? Have you thought about one that shows my injuries, that shows my surgeries?”

Over the past 35 plus years that I have been representing personal injury clients, I have used medical illustrations to increase the value of my client’s cases. I will often use a life-size drawing of my client that shows on the body all the injuries that they have sustained. This drawing isn’t very detailed, but it is good for summarizing all the injuries someone has suffered. This is a great tool when someone has injuries throughout their body. I have used detailed injury boards showing the injuries in broken bone cases, traumatic brain injury cases, neurological injury cases, herniated disc cases, and other spinal injury cases. I usually also will use medical illustrations to show all surgeries my client has gone through plus any future surgeries that are anticipated. I have used medical animations as well. For example, one that I regularly use shows the progression of a brain injury and the structure of the brain. Medical illustrations, animations, and 3D models should be used by all personal injury lawyers.

The use of medical illustrations in catastrophic personal injury cases goes beyond mere aesthetics—it is a strategic and powerful method of communication. By leveraging the visual storytelling aspect of these illustrations, attorneys can articulate the profound impact of catastrophic injuries, compellingly advocate for their clients, and ultimately contribute to achieving just compensation. Medical illustrations prove the adage is true:  a picture is worth a thousand words, and in the realm of personal injury litigation, it may be worth even more.

I would like to thank MediVisuals and Artery Studios for so graciously allowing me to use some of their medical illustrations and animations in this blog post. MediVisuals, Inc. is the nation’s largest medical demonstrative evidence provider. The company has been offering powerful and accurate medical visuals for over three decades. They provide ready-to-go medical visuals at their online store or can create custom graphics for your litigation team. To get MediVisuals graphics for your litigation team they can be reached at (866)-931-4540 or visit medivisuals.com for a case review.

Artery Studios, Inc. has been providing personal injury litigation graphics since 1992 and has been a key player in shaping the demonstrative evidence field. They offer a selection of stock illustrations for use in litigation on their online store or they’ll create whichever illustration, animation, or 3D model is necessary for the success of your case. Artery Studios can be reached at 1-800-721-1721 or visit arterystudios.com for a free, no-obligation proposal to communicate your case.

About the David W. Craig

David W. Craig is a board-certified truck accident lawyer and managing partner as well as one of the founding partners of the law firm of Craig, Kelley & Faultless LLC. He is also recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by the National Trial Lawyers. David is the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, written to  help victims and their families as they navigate through a terrible situation and answers the host of questions that come after a tragic wreck. He is also the host of the podcast, After the Crash where you can gain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks that do not follow Indiana law safety protocol on roads regarding speed, weather conditions, maintenance upkeep, etc.