- videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
- calendar_month July 30, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
- signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
- card_travel Personal Injury and Med Mal
- schedule 90 minutes
FRE 404(b) in Personal Injury Cases: Tipping the Scales With Evidence of Prior Bad Acts and Uncharged Incidents
campaign
Welcome! Strafford is now BARBRI! The expert courses you know from the trusted global leader in legal education.
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will guide personal injury lawyers through the benefits and risks of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) (and its state counterparts) in personal injury cases, exploring what the evidence in FRE 404(b) includes and what it does not, a subtle distinction; how to uncover prior bad acts or incidents; how to get that evidence admitted and best strategies for excluding it; and how to avoid not overlooking the usefulness of this rule in personal injury cases.
Description
Evidence of prior bad acts admitted under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) can be very close to the proverbial silver bullet for personal injury attorneys in many cases, such as trucking, premises liability, negligence, intentional torts, and product liability. It has also carried the day in civil lawsuits alleging antitrust violations, securities fraud, trade secret misappropriation, and construction defects. This type of evidence can tip the scales on both liability and damages, including punitive damages.
Such evidence can be devasting to the person and case against whom it is offered. It can be a gateway to the jury for otherwise inadmissible evidence. If a plaintiff is aware of such evidence, counsel can draft the complaint to ensure similar acts will come into evidence. The defendant can do the likewise in its answer. But counsel must be well versed in what is not implicated by FRE 404(b) and thus admissible in its own right.
Counsel must understand the proper procedures for getting 404(b) evidence admitted and for excluding it. Courts are well aware of attempts to introduce inadmissible evidence and may be quick to exclude evidence that only becomes relevant and probative through inferences that the party against whom it is admitted acted in conformity with whatever the evidence of the prior act says about their character.
Listen as this experienced panel explores how this underutilized rule can be a powerful tool in personal injury cases.
Credit Information
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
-
Live Online
On Demand
Date + Time
- event
Thursday, July 30, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. What evidence FRE 404(b) covers
II. What evidence is never implicated by FRE 404(b)
III. Admissibility
A. Proper evidentiary purpose
B. Relevant
C. Probative value vs. prejudice
D. Proper limiting instruction
IV. Application in different types of cases
The panel will review these and other pressing issues:
- What standard should be applied when reviewing Rule 404(b) proper purpose determinations?
- Do the rules governing the admissibility of character evidence apply to corporations or other entities?
- What does it mean that Rule 404(b) is a rule of inclusion rather than exclusion?
- What is "reverse" FRE 404(b) evidence?
- What objections can be expected?
An error occurred while processing the template.
The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> An error occurred while processing the template.
The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> An error occurred while processing the template.
The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> An error occurred while processing the template.
The following has evaluated to null or missing:
==> barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 77]
----
Tip: If the failing expression is known to legally refer to something that's sometimes null or missing, either specify a default value like myOptionalVar!myDefault, or use <#if myOptionalVar??>when-present<#else>when-missing</#if>. (These only cover the last step of the expression; to cover the whole expression, use parenthesis: (myOptionalVar.foo)!myDefault, (myOptionalVar.foo)??
----
----
FTL stack trace ("~" means nesting-related):
- Failed at: response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("b... [in template "20096#20121#2885355" at line 5, column 66]
---- 1<#assign productId = ''/> 2 <#if (productID.getData())?? && productID.getData()?has_content> 3 <#assign productId = productID.getData() /> 4 </#if> 5 <#assign response = barbriRedisCacheAPI.get("barbripass", productId) 6 json = jsonFactoryUtil.createJSONObject(response) 7 /> 8 9 <div class="card"> 10 <div class="card-body"> 11 <div class="row justify-content-between align-items-center"> 12 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto"> 13 <div class="btn cle_btn" id="modalPassShortName"><#if (passName.getData())??>${passName.getData()}</#if></div> 14 </div> 15 <div class="col-auto col-sm-auto pl-lg-0"> 16 <span class="sale-price" id="modalPassPrice">$${json.pricebook?replace(",", "")?number?string("#,##0.00")}</span> 17 </div> 18 </div> 19 <div class="small_heading_area" id="modalPassFullName"><#if (title.getData())??>${title.getData()}</#if></div> 20 <p><#if (unlimitedText.getData())??>${unlimitedText.getData()}</#if>:</p> 21 <ul class="common-list disc_list paddNone"> 22 <#if (benefits.getData())??> 23 ${benefits.getData()} 24</#if> 25 </ul> 26 </div> 27 <div class="btn-float"> 28 <div class="premium-cle-pass cart-item"> 29 <input type="hidden" class="product-id" value="${productId}"> 30 <input type="hidden" class="product-name" value="${json.name}"> 31 <input type="hidden" class="pass-value" value="${passName.getData()}"> 32 <input type="hidden" class="product-price" value="${json.pricebook}"> 33 <input type="hidden" class="passAccessLengthMonths" value="${json.passAccessLengthMonths}"> 34 <input type="hidden" class="product-pass" value="family"> 35 <input type="hidden" class="product-expireDate" value=""> 36 37 <button 38 class="btn pc_theme_btn btn-primary btn_maxwidth_xxl_large add-to-cart" 39 aria-label="Buy Now" 40 data-redirect-checkout="true" 41 > 42 <span class="material-symbols-rounded"> shopping_cart </span> 43 Buy Now 44 </button> 45 </div> 46 </div> 47 </div> 48 49 <script> 50$(document).on('click', '.add-to-cart', function () { 51 let monthsToAdd = parseInt($(".passAccessLengthMonths").val()); 52 let currentDate = new Date(); 53 let futureDate = new Date(currentDate); 54 // Add months dynamically 55 futureDate.setMonth(futureDate.getMonth() + monthsToAdd); 56 57 // Handle overflow (e.g., Jan 31 + 1 month) 58 if (futureDate.getDate() !== currentDate.getDate()) { 59 futureDate.setDate(0); // last day of previous month 60 } 61 62 // Format as MM/DD/YYYY 63 function formatDateMMDDYYYY(date) { 64 let mm = String(date.getMonth() + 1).padStart(2, '0'); 65 let dd = String(date.getDate()).padStart(2, '0'); 66 let yyyy = date.getFullYear(); 67 return mm + '/' + dd + '/' + yyyy; 68 } 69 $(".product-expireDate").val(formatDateMMDDYYYY(futureDate)); 70 71 // Then close the modal 72 $('.single_option').modal('hide'); 73 }); 74</script> Related Courses
Freight Broker Liability After Montgomery v. Caribe Transport: Navigating Changes in How Fault is Evaluated
Wednesday, November 11, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
Noneconomic Damage Amounts in Personal Injury Cases: Linking the Value to Injury Following Recent Decisions
Monday, August 24, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
AI-Related Healthcare and Medical Malpractice Risks: Potential Defendants, Standard of Care, Insurance Coverage
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
Countering Reptile-Themed Opening Statements: Defense Strategies for Refocusing Juror Attention
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
Recommended Resources
Law School Year 3 888
Bar Prep
ARTICLE
What We Wish Our Friends and Family Knew About Bar Prep
- Law School Tips
- Bar Exam Tips and Tricks
- Job Search
- Mental Health & Wellness