{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fdc6c77fa-7c14-4da3-b3aa-1da1d2ef4b78","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"54 \u2013 Michael O\u2019Neill \u2013 Delivering Justice: From UPS Defense Attorney to Plaintiff Trial Lawyer","description":"In this Trial Lawyer Nation podcast, Michael Cowen sits down with former defense attorney for UPS and current plaintiff attorney, Michael O\u2019Neill. This show covers an array of topics, including the defense\u2019s advantages in catastrophic injury cases, why O\u2019Neill switched sides of the courtroom (and why it made him such a good plaintiff attorney), what companies can\u2019t defend against, and why referring out cases can make you more money.\nThe episode kicks off with Cowen asking O\u2019Neill why large companies use the same defense firm for cases around the country. O\u2019Neill says the lawyer needs to know a very specific field, know the company well, and have a consistent defense. O\u2019Neill would receive a call in the middle of the night or on a weekend and would need to travel immediately to the scene of a crash. UPS would refer to this as \u201cboots on the ground.\u201d He emphasizes that marshalling evidence while it\u2019s fresh is pertinent to the success of any case. O\u2019Neill shares a story of a time where he went to the scene and pointed out a detail the police missed which would have hurt their case on liability. He was also there while the police were writing their reports and describes how he could influence what was written. Cowen and O\u2019Neill discuss the defense\u2019s role in shaping the narrative of the case from the start, the role of psychology with the first responders, the defense\u2019s advantage in this, and what plaintiff lawyers CAN (but most DON\u2019T) do to combat this.\nCowen then asks what everyone\u2019s thinking; why did O\u2019Neill switch to the plaintiff\u2019s side? O\u2019Neill replies that the curiosity has always been there. He then describes a scenario, not uncommon to him, where he had a defense verdict on a case he believed \u201cthat\u2019s an easy 7-figure case that should have been won and we zeroed them.\u201d\nThe conversation shifts to what companies CAN\u2019T defend. Both agree on exposing poor training programs as the key to winning \u201cnuclear verdicts\u201d in commercial vehicle and trucking cases. They discuss this and other factors which make the case about the 3 months before, as opposed to the 5 seconds before the crash. O\u2019Neill then brings up a defense trucking podcast by https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-defend-against-a-nuclear-verdict/id1485600387?i=1000468023910 (FreightWaves )which recently discussed the defense\u2019s fear of \u201cthe second lawyer\u201d and the impact of referral attorneys on the insurance industry. As a \u201csecond lawyer\u201d himself, Cowen shares a recent example of an insurance company who learned once he became involved all prior negotiations at a much lower number were out the window.\nOne of the most important details for a successful catastrophic injury lawyer to accomplish is to make the case about the company, not the individual. Cowen shares a story of a case where the CMV driver was high on meth at the time of the accident. The case against the driver was already strong, but when asked by a colleague why he was working so hard on the case Cowen replied, \u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much money to teach a meth head a lesson. It needs to be about the company and what it takes to teach the company a lesson.\u201d O\u2019Neill echoes this with another great example of a strong case that he made even stronger by putting in the work.\nO\u2019Neill and Cowen then praise trucking trial lawyer https://triallawyernation.com/episode/02-joe-fried/ (Joe Fried) and how instrumental he has been on creating the current \u201cabundance mentality\u201d of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (ATAA). The ATAA abundance mentality encompasses the idea that there are plenty of trucking cases to go around, and we all perform better when we share information and establish good law. \u201cThe tide raises good ships,\u201d O\u2019Neill eloquently responds. When comparing this to the defense bar, O\u2019Neill says the difference is night and day.","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/80de4db6-da18-41b8-9643-156c5d06db25/tln-logo-itunes-1400.jpg"}