Chris Higley is a partner at Cutt Kendell & Olson. He has been with CKO since 2013. He became a partner in 2020.
Since joining CKO, he has specialized in product liability, Polaris vehicle fires, bus accident cases, trucking accident cases, car accidents, insurance bad faith, medical malpractice. He focuses on litigating on behalf of victims of burn injuries, serious orthopedic injuries, brain injuries, and heirs in wrongful death cases.
Mr. Higley primarily litigates cases in Utah. However, he has litigated in several other states, primarily Minnesota, California, and Montana.
Mr. Higley has experience in all phases of litigation, from pre-suit negotiations to trial and even on appeals. As part of one appeal, Mr. Higley’s work was instrumental in getting Minnesota to adopt the consumer-friendly predominate purpose test, making it more difficult for large corporations to hide critical information from the public by simply including an attorney on the communication. Here is a copy of the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision: In re Polaris, Inc., A20-0427.
Mr. Higley believes that cases become more powerful with visual demonstrations. He often works with experts to develop imagery that is helpful for juries to understand the extent of injuries and what the treatment includes. For example, Mr. Higley used the following image at trial to help a jury understand a surgeon’s testimony at trial about a lumbar fusion:
Mr. Higley has recovered tens of millions of dollars on behalf of injured clients. Amongst other trials, he was second chair on a construction injury case that resulted in a jury verdict of several million dollars and was the first chair on an arbitration that resulted in a six-figure verdict.
Mr. Higley served on the Young Lawyer’s Division executive board as a liaison for And Justice for All, a local nonprofit. He has taught litigation-related CLEs sponsored by different divisions of the Utah Bar.
When Chris is not at work or volunteering, he enjoys spending time with his family and watching football.
