Jury Selection in a Mild TBI Case with Robert Hirschhorn (Part 1)

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“If you can’t get the essence of your case to a jury in 30 minutes, then you have got to go back to the drawing board.” – Robert Hirschhorn

Welcome to Winning The TBI Case, hosted by trial lawyer Tom Crosley. Listen as Tom provides practical, powerful guidance for litigating traumatic brain injury cases. This podcast is meant for litigation attorneys who are ready to explore the essentials of TBI cases to confidently represent clients who have suffered traumatic brain injuries.

What’s In This Episode

Tom is joined by Robert Hirschhorn, attorney and trial consultant from CEB Jury & Trial Consultants to talk about the keys to successful jury selection in a mild TBI case.

Picking a Jury For Your Case

Jury selection in a mild TBI case starts with a difficult challenge: your client looks normal. The headaches, the brain fog, the mood changes, the lost enjoyment of life – none of it shows up on imaging. So how do you find jurors who will believe what they can’t see?

Jury consultant and attorney Robert Hirschhorn has spent more than 40 years helping trial lawyers answer that question. In this conversation, Robert explains how voir dire has changed since COVID, why 45-60 minutes is enough (and more may hurt you), and the one tool he calls “the 11th commandment” of jury selection.

Key Takeaways

Robert is direct about the goal: 80% of your voir dire time should be spent identifying jurors who distrust invisible injuries, not building rapport. He covers:

  • Why your client should not be in the courtroom during jury selection
  • The difference between picking a liability jury and a damages jury
  • Why scaled 0-10 questions provide better information about potential jurors

If you’ve ever walked out of jury selection worried you talked too much about money, or missed the juror who was never going to buy your case, this conversation will reshape how you plan your next voir dire.

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. In Part 2, Robert returns to discuss jury selection in a severe TBI case.

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