| RESEARCH GUIDE SERIES: RESEARCH GUIDE NO. 3B |
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Cleveland Law Library members can access the most currently available information on jury verdicts and settlements throughout the country. Reference to print and online verdict reporting services and settlement-related materials provides a resource for evaluation, preparation and resolution of comparable cases. The verdict and settlement databases may also identify who the expert witness was in a particular case. More databases are available to assist in locating an appropriate expert witness.
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These services typically summarize case facts and theories of liability argued to the jury and include names of expert witnesses, settlement demands and offers, and verdict amounts. The Law Library subscribes to the following:
I. ONLINE RESOURCES FOR FEE
Both LEXIS and WESTLAW provide databases which contain verdict and settlement information. Aside from the specialized files, newspapers and periodicals are fertile sources for locating specifics about settled cases and verdicts which rarely find their way into case reporting systems. U.S.A. Lawyers Weekly also has an electronic database of verdicts nationwide, available to subscribers. Casemaker also has jury verdict databases.
The Law Library subscribes to the Lexis Verdicts & Dockets Library. Members have free access to this material, but a library staff member must run the search for you. The Lexis Verdicts & Dockets Library much more than the items listed here for illustration.
- Available via Ohio State Bar Association's Casemaker database. Coverage is from 1976 to the present, although there appears to be time lag of about one year.
- Reports state court settlements and verdicts. Focus is on personal injury.
- Summarizes Ohio civil jury trials from Common Pleas and U.S. District courts. Entries are indexed by county, subject matter, attorney, expert witness, injury, judge, and insurance carrier, but there are no cumulative indexes.
Ohio Damages Awards: Personal Injury & Intentional Torts; Analysis of Specific Dollar Awards by Type of Injury or Action, Lawyers Cooperative Publishing Company, 1993 to 2000. (Not currently published.) [W.BALC.] KFO90.D3 034.
Justice Center Reporter: Publication started in 2002. Published sporadically, about once a month. Contains Cuyahoga County verdicts, arranged by type of case.
Personal Injury Valuation Handbooks, Jury Verdict Research, Inc., 1989 to date. KF1256.A8 J87x
Contains tables for each type of injury showing the "basic injury value" corresponding to the amount of medical expenses. The Case Evaluation Manual contains adjustment figures for admitted liability, personal characteristics of the plaintiff and defendant, and county deviations. There are also trend statistics, such as the annual range of awards and median award for specific types of injuries, percentage of cases where punitive damages were awarded and recovery probability over the years. There are also annual statistics for different types of injuries showing the length of time from filing to disposition. The last volume of the set contains the National Verdict Survey - Ohio Edition. These annual reports are indexed by expert witness, injury, and type of liability.
Dollar Verdicts: Personal Injury. West Group, 1998 to date.
- "Only reported cases which have generated a published opinion are presented." Arranged by type of injury. Includes Occupational Injury Index and Punitive Damages Index.
National Jury Verdict Review and Analysis, Jury Verdict Review Publications, Inc., 1989 to date. KF1247.8 N36.
- Coverage includes medical and professional malpractice, products and premises liability, insurance, and miscellaneous cases. This publication is not well indexed.
Verdicts, Settlements and Tactics, Shepards/McGraw-Hill, 1981 to date. KF446 .V47. (Vols. 1-8 were published by the Litigation Research Group as Verdicts and Settlements.) This service reports personal injury verdicts nationwide and includes indexes to Subject Matter, Medical Expert Witnesses, Non-medical Expert Witnesses, Jurisdiction plus a Table of Cases.
What's It Worth?: A Guide to Current Personal Injury Awards and Settlements, Michie Company, 1992 to date. KF1257 .M9.
- Annual compilation arranged by type of injury, then within that by state. There is also an index by jurisdiction.
Products Liability Reports: Volume 2, CCH, 1963 to date. KF1296.A6 C6.
- In the "Damages Award" tab, contains verdicts organized by type of product. Comes in handy when looking for verdicts on a broad category of products, for example medical devices, for which online searching may be difficult.
American Law of Products Liability: Product Citators, Clark, Boardman Callaghan, 1987 to date. KF1296.A54.
- Has sections dealing verdicts and cases for particular types of products. Comes in handy when looking for verdicts on a broad category of products, for example medical devices, for which online searching may be difficult.
III. FREE INTERNET RESOURCES
Determining Economic Loss in Injury and Death Cases, by Wm. Gary Baker, Shepard's/McGraw-Hill. KF1250 .B35 1993. With current updates.
Effective Legal Negotiation and Settlement, November 15, 2002. ALI-ABA course materials. KF9084 .E35 2002.
Preparing for Settlement and Trial (15 vols), Shepard's/McGraw-Hill. KF8900 .S53 1985. With current updates.
Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments, by Daniel W. Hindert, Law Journal Seminars-Press, Current. KF1250 .H55 1986. With current updates.
Structuring Settlements, by James R. Eck, Shepard's/McGraw Hill. KF1250 .E25 1987. With current updates.
I. PRINT RESOURCES
The Law Library staff can help with search formulation for any of the above databases. If you have questions about any of the materials in this guide, ask a staff member at the front desk for assistance.
| Created on: September 12, 2002 - |
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