This is Part IV in a four part series.  Part I, Part II and Part III. Another flaw in per diem arguments is that they suggest pain can be equated to dollars and that a formula will justly compensate a plaintiff.  Note to the jury that unless plaintiff has established with credible evidence why a certain dollar amount should be applied to a particular time segment, perhaps the jury should [...]

This is Part III of a four part series.  Part I, Part II and Part IV. The jurisdictions that approved per diem arguments generally fall into two categories, the first declare per diem arguments proper; the second declare them proper only if accompanied by a cautionary instruction.  Courts holding per diem arguments proper, or proper with caution, do so for the following reasons: Per diem arguments do not constitute the introduction [...]

This is Part II of four part series.  Part I, Part III, and Part IV. The Baylor and Dowd decisions set the stage for the Nebraska Supreme Court’s opinion in Richardson v. Children’s Hospital, 280 Neb. 396, 787 N.W.2d 235 (2010) and Nebraska joining the majority of Courts which approve per diem arguments in one form or another.  In Richarson, Plaintiff made a blatant per diem argument.  During Plaintiff’s closing, counsel [...]

This is a four part series discussing the history and use of per diem arguments in the state of Nebraska. Part II, Part III and Part IV. Before the Nebraska Supreme Court’s outright approval of per diem arguments in Richardson v. Children’s Hospital, 208 Neb. 396, 787 N.W.2d 235 (2010), I often found myself channeling Oliver Stone’s chain smoking conspiratorial reincarnation of David Ferrie in the movie JFK during my attempts [...]