Although jurors are supposed to make their decisions based entirely on law and facts, they are still human beings who can be swayed by emotions. This means that, if you know how to do it, you can use emotional appeal to win your case or increase your award. Here are some of the tips and tricks that can help you create an emotional appeal:

Prove That Your Injury Is Permanent

A serious permanent injury has the ability to elicit more sympathy than a serious temporary injury. This is because the jurors will be imagining how devastating it is to live with your injury, and their imaginations can work to your advantage. Therefore, if you have sustained a permanent injury, don't forget to emphasize its permanency during the trial. For example, you can produce testimony from your doctor confirming that you are unlikely to recover fully from your injuries.

Display Pictures of Your Injury

Graphics will always rule the emotions much better than words. Apart from capturing documentary evidence, this is one of the reasons you need to take pictures of the accident scene, damage, and your injuries immediately after an accident. Pictures of your bruises and bloody clothing will go a long way in making the jury feel your pain.

Prove Obvious Dishonesty from the Defendant

There is a difference between suing a defendant who made a careless but unintentional mistake and suing a defendant who made a mistake and has been lying about it all along. The dishonest defendant can elicit strong negative emotions from the jurors, which can be to your disadvantage. This means another way to create an emotional appeal to the jury is to poke holes in your defendant's story or prove that they are lying. The jury will rationalize that if the defendant is lying about one issue, then they must be lying about other aspects of the case too.

Prove Your "Nice Guy" Status

Lastly, you may also generate emotional appeal during your trial by proving that you are generally an upstanding member of the society and a well-liked guy. You can do this by proving that:

• You participate in community issues such as cleaning days or tree planting days
• You are associated with some charitable organizations
• You like to help people
• You have many friends in the community
• You are generally liked in the community

A huge advantage of using an experienced injury lawyer is that they already know about all these things – and more. This is one more reason you should not handle an injury case without a lawyer. Contact a firm, like Lerner, Piermont & Riverol, P.A. , for more help.