Timothy Kazee and Robert Swanson (Deland, FL) (Automobile Liability) obtained a verdict $2,000,000 under the last pre-trial demand and a directed verdict on the issue of punitive damages. The case was tried in Orange County Circuit Court. The Plaintiff had dashcam video recording the vehicle impact on the Plaintiff’s driver’s side, causing the Plaintiff to then cross three lanes of I-4 and crash with disabling damage into the concrete barrier. The Plaintiff was a 34-year-old prior fitness club manager without relevant medical history. The Plaintiff claimed neck surgery, lumbar surgery, shoulder injuries, as well as traumatic brain injury and neurocognitive impairment. Liability was admitted.
During the trial, the Plaintiff presented testimony from multiple medical experts and a vocational rehabilitation expert, all agreeing the Plaintiff could not work again in his lifetime, primarily due to traumatic brain injury and residual behavioral impairment. The Plaintiff was living with his mother (a nurse manager for a third party insurance administrator), and his mother testified as to the Plaintiff’s (her son’s) physical impairment and changes in mental processing and behavior. For the Defense, we attacked the reliability of Brain DTI MRI imaging and Neuroquant/gauge findings, validity of neuropsychiatric testing, and claimed clinical correlation. We emphasized favorable surveillance, neuropsychologist CME findings, and obtained favorable rulings on limitations of radiological experts testifying as to causation.
The Orange County jury’s verdict was $50,000 less than the Defendant’s last pre-trial offer, $2,000,000 less than the Plaintiff’s last pre-trial demand, $4.3 million less than Plaintiff’s demand at trial, and nearly $1,000,000 under pre-trial settlement authority.