Five Tips to Better Medical-legal Exhibits
We are highly skilled graphics professionals that specialize in creating illustrations for dissemination of medical and scientific information. The following tips will help you keep cost down, get your exhibits on time, and get the most out of your experience in working with a medical illustrator to create courtroom exhibits.
Tip 1: Be Prepared
We can do our job best when you know what you want to show in your exhibits or at least have a clear idea of the direction you want to take. Though we can suggest ideas about how best to display the information, it is up to you to provide the direction. The more time that we have to spend waiting on information, revising exhibits or researching subjects the more expensive the exhibits will be and the longer it will take to complete them.
Tip 2: Provide Pertinent Information Promptly
Provide all of the pertinent information we will need to design the exhibits as soon as possible. Have copies of x-rays, CT scans, MRIs, pre-operative reports, post-operative reports, accident reports, depositions, and any other information that will help the illustrator thoroughly understand your case ready for him to take back to his studio.
Tip 3: Listen to Suggestions From the Illustrator
We have acquired years of knowledge through our years of experience that will help you make the best presentation possible. Years of experience have taught us what layout or format may work best or how many exhibits are needed to best display the information. When you hire a specialized illustrator you are not just hiring someone that can draw, but some that has expert knowledge that you can tap into to do your best in court.
Tip 4: Allow Time to Produce the Exhibits
It goes without saying that it is best to give the illustrator the time needed to produce the exhibits. However, sometimes attorneys will hold off preparing exhibits for trial while trying to settle. If you find yourself in this situation consider the following. If you hire us to prepare exhibits with a very short turnaround we will add rush charges that will be passed on to you. Remember that we have several projects in house at any given time and if you wait to the last minute you may not be able to get the exhibits produced at all.
The best solution is to retain us at the beginning of a case that is likely to require exhibits, and provide us with tentative schedules, trial dates, and basic information about the case. So if settlements fall through and you are faced with a trial, we can still effectively and affordably produce the exhibits you will need.
Tip 5: Know About Copyrights
When you hire us to create exhibits for your case, you are licensing the use of the illustrations for the duration of the case. You cannot reuse the illustrations for any other purpose without our permission. We always retain the copyrights to the illustrations, and will never work-for-hire without charging more for the work. For instance, we can reuse part or all of the illustration in another venue, like another exhibit, or an illustration for print. We always retains the right to reproduce the illustration for self-promotion.
If you decide that you don't want us to reuse the artwork we create for your case somewhere else then you must let us know from the start that you want to purchase all copyrights. Be aware that purchasing all copyrights (a.k.a work-for-hire) is more expensive than licensing.