Kendra Therrell, of the Fort Myers office, recently obtained a complete defense verdict of no liability in an automobile negligence case. This was a true “he said/she said” case with disputed liability and vastly different versions of events in an accident involving a Defendant driver and Plaintiff bicyclist. Kendra’s client, the Defendant, was making a right hand turn at a busy intersection. He stopped at the stop bar, then inched up to gain better visibility to his left, at oncoming traffic. When first looking to the right, the Defendant observed the Plaintiff bicyclist a good distance away. Upon a second look to his right while waiting on traffic to clear, the Plaintiff bicyclist was closer, but still not close to the crosswalk. The Plaintiff bicyclist was talking on a cell phone and motioned with her hand and head for the Defendant to proceed. Then, unexpectedly, Plaintiff continued forward and collided with Defendant’s car. Plaintiff disputed all of this, contending the accident was Defendant’s fault. Over the course of 28 months, Plaintiff treated with chiropractic care and pain medication for alleged cervical bulges and a lumbar protrusion and testified at trial that she has constant neck and back pain related to the accident, which limits her activity. In closing, Plaintiff asked the jury for approximately $75,000.00 in total damages. However, during the defense closing, Kendra emphasized Plaintiff’s inconsistent testimony and the many areas in which she had impeached Plaintiff on cross-examination. Kendra argued that the Plaintiff simply failed to meet her burden to prove her claims by the greater weight of the evidence. The jury agreed and quickly returned a complete defense verdict finding no liability on the Defendant. Kendra plans to seek fees and costs based on a pre-trial proposal for settlement.
Locations
9100 South Dadeland Blvd.
Suite 1800
Miami, FL. 33156 305.374.1212
125 West Romana St.
Suite 550
Pensacola, FL 32502 850.434.0003
1705 Metropolitan Blvd.
Suite 202
Tallahassee, FL 32308 850.222.5188
201 South Orange Ave.
Suite 475
Orlando, FL 32801 407.245.3630
13350 Metro Parkway
Suite 401
Fort Myers, FL 33966 239.334.8403
402 Applerouth Lane
Suite 2C
Key West, FL 33040 305.509.7300
1 Independent Drive
Suite 1601
Jacksonville, FL 32202 904.396.0062
1396 NE 20th Ave.
Suite 500
Ocala, FL 34470 352.622.4222
400 North Ashley Drive
Suite 1200
Tampa, FL 33602 813.204.9776
110 East Broward Blvd.
Suite 1400
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 954.768.0011
1700 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd.
Suite 800
West Palm Beach, FL 33401 561.640.0303
11 North Water St.
Suite 10290
Mobile, AL 36602 251.308.3351