Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I choose Artery Studios to create medical demonstratives for my case?

Founded in 1992, Artery Studios is truly a pioneer in the medical-legal visual industry. We’ve been a key player in building the industry and have inspired others to follow in our footsteps.

Each member of our expert team of medical illustrators and animators has earned a Master’s Degree in biomedical visualization and holds an unwavering passion for precision.

We treat our clients with the utmost respect and go the extra mile to get the job done.

Simply put, we are the best at what we do.

Read more about The Artery Advantage.

Artery Studios has an M.D. on staff, and our team of medical illustrators and animators have advanced training with their Master’s Degrees from accredited medical schools. This medical knowledge allows each member of Artery Studios to contribute to the rich quality of the work we produce and affords a full understanding of the medical content of cases we illustrate – particularly complex MedMal and catastrophic files. Further, we have Certified Medical Illustrators (CMI) on staff who have undergone rigorous assessment and who maintain continuing education credits, enhancing their ability to communicate complex medical issues. We also consult with general radiologists as well as imaging specialists (e.g., neuroradiologists), who provide input on more indeterminate CT or MRI findings.

A medical illustrator is a professional artist who has a unique combination of advanced education in medical life sciences and visual communication. In North America, many medical illustrators hold a Master’s Degree from a specialized department within a medical school. The following are typically part of the credentials of a medical illustrator:

  • Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field – Including in biology, kinesiology, or a related science discipline, or a fine arts or similar humanities degree.
  • Master’s Degree from an accredited school of medical illustration – There are five graduate programs of medical illustration in North America. Courses of study focus on the health sciences and include human anatomy, neuroanatomy, physiology, embryology, pathology and histology.
  • Artistic training – Strong visual communication skills are essential for a medical illustrator. Background courses include drawing, illustration, design and digital media.
  • Certification – Some medical illustrators are certified by the Board of Certification of the Association of Medical Illustrators – which requires formal academic training, as well as ongoing professional development. The designation of Certified Medical Illustrator (CMI) indicates a high degree of expertise and professionalism in the field.

There are a variety of reasons our clients retain us to prepare medical visuals for their personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

Fundamentally, medical visuals – illustrations, animations, interactive media and 3D models – are communication tools. At mediations, settlement meetings and other forms of alternative dispute resolution, visuals help your litigation team communicate complex technical details with ease. They ensure that all participants – defense, mediator/arbitrator and insurance adjustors – understand the nature of the injuries and any surgical interventions that were required, providing them with a solid understanding of relevant medical issues.

The same premise holds true at trial – with you and your medical experts communicating the facts of the case, with your audience being the judge or jury in a courtroom. Such experts generally appreciate having visuals to assist them in explaining complex testimony.

In general, our clients come to us knowing only that they have complex medical issues that they’ll need assistance in communicating. We’ll do a full review and analysis of the case and, based on our many years of experience, will recommend demonstratives that we believe will be the most impactful and clear in communicating the issues of your file.

The most efficient way to start visualizing your case, is to email us at inquiries@arterystudios.com or call us at 1-800-721-1721 and speak with one of our experts during an intake meeting. We can discuss the key issues of your case, what you’d like to communicate, and your timeline for integrating our demonstratives into your depositions, mediation or trial. We will notify you of what medical records and radiology we require – which you or your team can upload to us [download our Required Items list]. We’ll then conduct a comprehensive analysis of the records, create a proposal outlining the demonstratives that will best communicate the critical issues (including fees), discuss this with you, and then proceed with creating the visuals. We work directly with your medical experts to ensure our visuals accurately depict their findings. Upon completion, we’ll provide you with electronic copies (JPEG format) of the visuals for inclusion in PowerPoint™. For a small fee, we’ll also produce high-resolution handouts and/or poster-sized versions. Start a case review now by contacting us.

We ask for a condensed medical brief to give us a complete picture of the medical situation. We typically don’t need the daily-care hospital/nursing notes. In particular, we’ll rely on the radiology studies and their corresponding reports, the operative notes, and reports from your medical experts (depositions, etc.) stating their opinions. We also ask for photos of your client so that we may include their likeness in our visuals [download our Required Items list].

We recommend investing in the case early to optimize negotiations and potentially reach a satisfactory settlement. Or you may wish to reduce the chances of your case going to trial. Using our custom visuals early in the process, such as at settlement meetings or mediations, shows a high degree of preparation and confidence in your case that can sway the opposing party towards settlement. Some lawyers opt to use more generic or overview visuals initially and then develop additional exhibits for trial.

The vast majority of the work we do is for settlement negotiations (mediations, dispute resolutions, depositions and other meetings).

In settlement meetings, visuals help you communicate complex medical details with ease. They ensure that all parties involved understand the injuries and surgical interventions required (past, present and future).

The typical turnaround for the average case for custom illustrations is 3-4 weeks, from the time we receive sign off on our proposal, as well as any outstanding items such as missing reports or radiological imaging. This allows time to interface with your medical experts (in conjunction with your office) and gather their feedback on the visuals we create. Missing radiological studies or key reports, as well as slow response times from your litigation team or experts (to review the draft illustrations), can cause delivery delays. If needed faster, we will attempt to accommodate shorter timelines, though additional costs may be incurred.

The typical turnaround time for a custom animation is 4-8 weeks. If needed faster, we will attempt to accommodate shorter timelines, though additional costs may be incurred. Missing case documents or radiology, as well as slow response times from your litigation team or experts (for review of the storyboard or draft footage), can cause delivery delays.

The typical price range for medical legal illustration exhibits from Artery Studios is $350-1750. For the convenience of our clients, we provide a detailed proposal for every case, outlining suggested visuals that will fully demonstrate all key issues. This includes all estimated fees – including labor charges to meticulously translate the radiological and medical reports into accurate demonstratives, thereby maximizing admissibility. Illustrations from Artery Studios provide excellent value to your file and can be critical to a successful outcome, particularly when the medical concepts are difficult to visualize due to their complexity or abstract nature. Our case-specific illustrations provide a powerful and effective tool for clear communications of the case details at trial or in lead up to the courtroom. ArteryStudiosSTAT! provides economical stock (generic) illustrations that can be customized to your case.

The typical range for medical legal animations from Artery Studios is $3,000-17,500, depending on complexity and length. We provide a detailed proposal for every case, outlining the content of the animation(s). This includes all labor charges to demonstrate the mechanism of injury, trauma details, surgical steps employed, or other case concepts that can be portrayed via this form of motion-media. Animations from Artery Studios provide excellent value to your file and can be critical to a successful outcome, particularly when the medical concepts are difficult to visualize due to their complexity or abstract nature. Our case-specific animations provide a powerful and effective tool for clear communications of the case details at trial or in lead up to the courtroom. ArteryStudiosSTAT! provides stock (generic) animations that can be customized to your case.

Occasionally, lawyers come to us only one or two weeks before requiring illustrations. To remain fair to other clients and to allow us to pay overtime and/or bring in additional resources, we charge a rush fee that allows us to accommodate last-minute requests.

Yes, see ArteryStudiosSTAT! for generic images of general anatomy and common trauma pathologies. We are constantly expanding our stock offerings, so check back or contact us to inquire about a specific illustration or animation you need.

The procedure to get demonstrative evidence admitted into trial can vary depending on the jurisdiction and associated court rules. However, the following are general guidelines for this process:

  • Notify opposing counsel before presenting demonstrative evidence to the court
  • Identify the relevance of the demonstratives to the case
  • Establish the authenticity of the evidence, ensuring its accuracy and reliability
  • Lay a foundation through a qualified witness, who can attest to the authenticity and accuracy of the demonstrative evidence
  • Outline the probative value of the demonstrative evidence, addressing any objections raised by opposing counsel
  • Obtain court approval for the admission of demonstrative evidence into the trial record

Lawyers typically ask the testifying medical expert two fundamental questions:

  1. Does this medical illustration (or animation, etc.) fairly and accurately represent or explain the client’s condition (trauma, surgery, deterioration, etc.)?
  2. Will this demonstrative evidence assist you in explaining your testimony?

Often yes – unnecessary portrayal of excessive bleeding, pain responses, expressions of fear, etc. can be deemed inadmissible by the court, due to their prejudicial nature exceeding their probative value. At Artery Studios, we make every attempt to maximize admissibility by communicating the facts of the case – the tangible medical details of trauma, surgery and complications – rather than subjective, intangible, emotional factors. If relevant, this may include the portrayal of blood and other elements directly related to injury, but our depictions never exceed reasonable trauma findings that one would see on the date of loss or during an operation. Your medical experts should be able to attest to the educational value and relevance of the visuals, and address objections, if any, related to their content.

There are numerous steps we take to ensure your investment in visuals pays off in the courtroom.

Of utmost importance is the care we take to provide you with highly accurate visuals. We’re able to support every element depicted in our visuals with the case’s own medical reports and/or references in authoritative, well-established medical texts and journals. We do not invent, embellish, or otherwise introduce any facts to the case that can’t be found in your client’s medical record and supported in the literature. If requested, we can produce a report that explicitly outlines all references used and the production process followed.

We work directly with your medical experts to ensure that our visuals accurately depict their findings. If something isn’t as they would like it to be (typically adding a view or editing labels), we’ll revise accordingly until they are satisfied.

Our visuals are designed to educate, not shock the viewer. This approach ensures our visuals remain effective, impactful communication tools while minimizing the risk of being deemed prejudicial.

Because of the steps outlined above, our visuals are almost always admitted without objection. If necessary, however, we are prepared to attend court and testify in support of our visuals, and the rigorous process used to create them.

In the vast majority of cases, your medical experts will take the stand, using our visuals to assist in delivering their testimony.

The visuals we create are classified as demonstrative evidence (terminology may differ in your jurisdiction). We do not add or embellish details or offer our own opinions about the medical information of the case. Our job is to determine how to best demonstrate your case and prepare visuals to help your medical experts explain their findings at trial.

We strongly recommend that you obtain a letter from your experts in advance of trial confirming the fairness of representation and accuracy of our visuals.

In rare cases, the validity of the illustrations and other demonstratives may be called into question. In such cases, Stephen Mader, Artery’s President and a Certified Medical Illustrator, will testify about the production process and how we came to depict details as we did. This happens only rarely.