Loss control plans stand upon twin pillars: insurance protection and risk management. The first is a financial product to defray personal or business losses, the second is a managerial regimen to prevent such losses or reduce their severity. Risk management is the proverbial “stitch in time that saves nine.” Does risk management end at the courthouse steps, or can it continue even after counsel for the parties stand and address the court: “Ready, Your Honor!”

Assume that all the appropriate risk management measures have been put into place, but a loss has occurred, a lawsuit has been filed, and a jury is about to be impaneled. Is the final act of the play that is about to begin in the courtroom predetermined? Not necessarily. What lies ahead is not yet set in stone, or even wet concrete. A lot of things can happen during a trial.