Gregory Prusak, Deborah Bergin, and Sebastian Mejia of the Orlando office, received a favorable defense verdict in an auto accident case where Plaintiff was alleging traumatic brain injury.

The Plaintiff rear-ended the Defendant’s trailer which was standing on a dark stretch of road in Orange County. Plaintiff alleged that the Defendant’s trailer was unlit, making the accident unavoidable. Greg and Debbie presented evidence that the Plaintiff took no actions to avoid the accident, and had he taken any action at all, the accident would have been avoidable.

Not only was liability hotly contested, but the Plaintiff was also complaining of an alleged traumatic brain injury and cervical disc herniation as a result of the accident. Through multiple witnesses, including neuroradiologists and neuropsychologists, the defense team was able to establish that Plaintiff’s injury pre-existing the accident, or that he was greatly exaggerating his injuries. Following Plaintiff’s case, Sebastian successfully argued a motion for directed verdict as to future medical expenses related to the Plaintiff’s cervical disc injury, on the basis that Plaintiff’s pain management doctor’s testimony was purely speculative. The successful motion eliminated a $300,000.00 future medical damage claim.

After nearly six hours, the jury returned a net verdict that was less than the figures submitted by defense counsel during closing arguments. After comparative fault and PIP set offs, Plaintiff’s total recovery was less than half of Plaintiff’s past medical expenses and lost wages and the jury assigned 40% comparative fault onto the Plaintiff. The jury demand was $2,100,000.00 and that net verdict, after set-offs was only $50,109.00.