Mock Trial - A great Success

Review: Mock Trial – CLINTON v TRUMP

The Insurance Institutes of Southampton & Bournemouth

Ageas Bowl, Southampton 23^rd March 2016

98-99% of claims seen in our industry do not end in a trial – so what happens when one does? Experience of this was exactly what the local institutes of Southampton and Bournemouth wanted to offer their members with this mock trial CPD event, held at the prestigious Shane Warne stand, at the Ageas Bowl Southampton.

The trial, hosted by Albion Chambers (Bristol), presented the event which was designed to show how a seemingly innocuous case could keep on going and against all odds, and end up appearing in the trial list at a local County Court.

All attendees were provided with a package of materials which outlined the personal injury claim which was disputed. This package represented the court ‘bundle’ and enabled attendees to follow the events in the ‘court room’ as they unfolded as they could look at the same documents available to the court.

The event – which was fully booked almost immediately after being promoted to the Southampton and Bournemouth members – played out exactly as a real trial would have done. There was an opportunity for the 120 strong crowd to read through the papers, watch the trial in progress and participate in feedback and questions. The matters which were observed took place in the routine Fast Track personal injury trial in the County Court at ‘Netley’ (a fictional place) but the trial was based around a recent trial in another part of the country.

The premise of the trial was the Claimant, who, whilst visiting her cousin’s flat which was rented from the Defendant, had twisted her foot on the paving slabs at the bottom of the premises. The particulars of the claim stated that the accident was caused by / or contributed to by negligence and/or breach of the statutory duty of the Defendant. This was played out through the trial with witnesses called upon, photos of the ‘site’ in question, statements, etc...

The mock trial was not a ‘made for TV’ event with dashing lawyers unmasking wrongdoing by treacherous witnesses, and was far more ‘run of the mill’ but everything which was said by the judge and barristers was based on real-life examples and was very much true to form. The timeframe was somewhat speeded up with the topic chosen to fit the time available.

Southampton President Kelvin Farmaner commented “for those members who have ever wished they were able to attend trials more often to learn what goes on – this was a fantastic opportunity. Insurance professionals from underwriters to loss adjusters and claims professionals all attended and the feedback has been incredible. The audience was mesmerised with the proceedings and you could hear a pin drop in the audience. Based on our member feedback we wanted to provide a real issue which professionals come across however they may not see how it plays out in court. We wanted them to consider what the outcome of the trial would be, the strength of the case, what could have been done by either side’s representation before the trial and whether there were there any surprises”.

Kelvin also commented that he had often heard insurance professionals say that their role is not really relevant when it comes to trials. However, in his experience whatever role you play whether you are an underwriter, loss adjuster or claims handler for example, it could well affect the outcome of a trial. He once attended a trial with a claims handler who said that had he known how much scrutiny things came under including letters he had written years earlier he would have taken more time over them. Worth bearing in mind you may think.

For those of you who want to know the outcome... it went in favour of the Defendant on the basis that the Claimant had not been able to show that the Defendant had failed to exercise reasonable care on the evidence before the court and the case highlights the importance of obtaining cogent evidence early on.

An excellent and entertaining CPD session, which fully allowed attendees a greater understanding of the legal processes and how insurance wordings, underwriting and claims handling impacts on all parties.