In New York, the answer is "Yes."
Why?
Because you don't need a unanimous verdict in order to win your medical malpractice case, your accident case or your wrongful death case here in NY.
Since there are only six jurors who will be deciding whether you are more likely right wrong, you need only 5 out of 6 to be in your favor on each of the questions they must answer.
Some people believe that the same five jurors must answer all the questions in order to win. This would be incorrect. It can be any of the five jurors in any combination of any of the questions being asked.
The three categories of questions that the jury must answer will involve (1) Who is responsible, (2) Whether the wrongdoing caused injury and whether the injury significant and if so, how much money will the jury give you to compensate you for your injuries.
Although there are alternate jurors, they do not participate in the jury deliberations to reach a verdict. They are there “just in case” one of the main jurors are unable to continue during the course of the trial.
