The “Chicken Suit Case,” as it has been coined in the media, ended six years after the original incident with a settlement of $10.5 million from the Kern High School District. On Tuesday, we shared the first half of the Mitch Carter story featuring the original attorneys on the case, Ralph Wegis and Michelle Paula. Today’s feature highlights the involvement of Beverly Hills-based attorney Nicholas C. Rowley, of Carpenter, Zuckerman & Rowley, LLP and Long Beach-based Joseph Low, IV of The Law Firm of Joseph H. Low IV, who were called in to assist Wegis and Paula with the case for their expertise in multi-million dollar cases and complex litigation. Both of these attorneys are members of CZR’s Special Ops team, which is dedicated to getting “more cases tried, and also to train[ing] and arm[ing] more licensed attorneys to become real trial lawyers...”

Because the suit was bifurcated, Low took the floor first, arguing that the school was liable for the injuries suffered by Carter. Low employed his unwavering litigation technique to condemn the district for their failure to intervene. The school was ultimately found liable for the damages, which allowed Rowley to take the floor and argue their way to a $10,500,000 settlement for Carter and his family.

Rowley was relentless in making certain the severity of his client’s injuries was understood for the damages portion of the case. Going further than compelling oration and powerful presentation of the evidence, Rowley wore the same style chicken suit worn by his client during the attack to deliver his liability closing argument. He contacted DK Global to have a visual presentation accompany his argument, but more than just creating a visual, Rowley employed a company that he knew would have the same commitment to justice for his client.

In the video clip above, Rowley states that his goal with the animation was to bring “what was going on inside of [his] client’s brain to life so that the jury could understand that something that we can’t find a picture of on an MRI scan, a CT scan, does truly exist.” DK Global created a visual presentation that synthesized the facts of the case to a captivating video, featuring enhanced live cellphone footage of the incident, screen grabs of medical documents, and various medical animations with colorized imagery guided by specific yet understandable text. The animations first show the immediate injuries from the attack, which included a swollen eye, abrasions over the face and behind the ear, confusion, fear, delayed response, slurred speech, and slow physical movement. Then, an animation of the injured parts of the brain and their respective functions show how severe the injuries Carter sustained were. Illustrations of the neurons and axons, as well as axonal shearing, make the invisible come to life and take the jury deep into the brain allowing them to appreciate the damage. The full presentation for the case also featured a series of graphs, which compared Carter’s mental abilities after the incident to that of a “normal” person, as well as from various medical documents.

Each of these pieces of the video complemented Rowley and Low’s litigation skills and convinced the jury that the high school was, in fact, liable for the incident that took place at their pep rally. The presentation cut through the wordiness that can sometimes come along with explaining an injury as serious as a TBI, and allowed them to see the injuries in one clear video. Although Carter will never be the same person he was prior to the accident, the settlement he was awarded will make sure that he won’t have to worry about his medical bills or any other costs stemming from the incident.