How Jarod Krissman's Closing Led to $1.63M Verdict Against Railway Giant

The most persuasive closings often combine a clear road map of the argument with a variety of media to reinforce that argument. At trial over injuries a railway worker suffered, Jarod Krissman’s strong, straightforward closing helped deliver a seven-figure verdict. 

David Arizaga contends he injured his head, back, and leg when an 83-pound rail rack fell from the railway grapple truck he was operating. During closings at trial against BNSF, Krissman, of Krissman & Silver, walked jurors through the elements of his claim with simple, direct bullet-pointed lists. For example, on the issue of negligence, Krissman’s list highlighted the multiple elements he believed proved BNSF had provided Arizaga with a dangerous grapple truck. The statements were short, simple, and easy for the jury to understand on their own, while providing Krissman a base for delving deeper into each issue. 

And when recapping the evidence, Krissman used a variety of media, including written excerpts of testimony he read and recorded audio of witness testimony. The multi-media format served to reach jurors with different learning styles, while reinforcing key pieces of evidence. And notably, Krissman tagged the audio he played with photos of the witnesses on the stand. This ensured jurors connected a face with the words and reinforced the testimony’s importance in a way that audio only might not. 

Krissman’s clear closing and multi-layered approach helped key a $1.63 million verdict against BNSF, beating a $50,000 settlement offer the company made.