Sebastian C. Mejia and Gregory Prusak, of our Orlando office, obtained “Threshold defense verdict” after five days of a grueling trial in a hotly-litigated automobile/truck accident case. The underlying car accident was initially viewed as clear liability against the insured. Plaintiff’s vehicle sustained $12,000 in property damage. Plaintiff further embarked on two years of non-stop medical treatment, and her expert rendered a life care plan for 46 future years totaling $1,500,000.00. Plaintiff only had $17,000.00 in past medical bills when Plaintiff’s proposal for settlement for $200,000.00 was served, which was about to expire at the time the life care plan was produced.

At trial, Sebastian and Greg aggressively impeached Plaintiff; successfully established an accident-avoidance defense; and thoroughly destroyed Plaintiff’s medical experts, particularly the life-care expert. Sebastian likewise won numerous rulings at trial to exclude key damages evidence. Plaintiff asked the jury for $2,700,182. In closing, Sebastian and Greg argued Plaintiff’s comparative fault against Plaintiff and suggested total damages of $81,000, including $41,000 in past medical bills. The jury ultimately rendered a defense verdict of only $141,027 (after a 30% comparative fault set-off) with no permanent injury (subject to an agreed PIP set-off of $10,000). The net verdict of $131,027 was well below the carrier’s last offer of $200,000. The “no permanent injury” defense verdict eliminated the $1,600,000 in pain & suffering damages that Plaintiff presented to the jury at trial. Importantly, the net verdict further eliminated Plaintiff’s potential attorney’s fee claim related to their prior, expired proposal for settlement.