G. Jeffrey Vernis (N. Palm Beach, FL/Melbourne, FL) and Isam Alsafeer (Melbourne, FL) (Auto Liability) settled the matter of Lovett v. Heughins just days before trial for an amount less than the Defendant offered at mediation. This case stems from a motor vehicle-bus accident that happened on November 8, 2019 in Palm Bay, Florida. The Plaintiff was an occupant in a public transportation bus that was struck by a vehicle driven by Ms. Heughins. The Plaintiff claimed that he looked out the front of the bus window and saw the Defendant’s car heading at them head-on. Instantly, the bus collided with the car, running over and crushing the car, forcing the bus onto two wheels. After teetering on two wheels, the bus came slamming down, projecting the Plaintiff from his seat onto the floor. Unfortunately for the Plaintiff, none of this was true. This was a rather minimal sideswipe accident where there was minimal damage to the bus, and all was captured on the buses cameras.
As a result of the accident, the Plaintiff claimed severe injuries to his neck and low back, underwent multiple injections and back surgery at L4-5 and L5-S1. He incurred over $150,000.00 in past medical expenses and had a life care plan that totaled $1,061,383.00in future medical care needs. The Plaintiff’s counsel, a very large national Plaintiff’s firm, demanded $1,250,000.00 in their time limit demand and re-asserted that demand again at mediation. At mediation, the Defendant made a final offer of $50,000.00. We were specially set for trial beginning June 13, 2022. After mediation, we continued to press the Plaintiff’s counsel on discovery and were able to get the Judge to severely limit Plaintiff’s treating doctor’s testimony and was in the process of seeking the same regarding the Plaintiff’s life care planner. After the final pre-trial conference with the Judge and knowing the matter was proceeding to trial within a week, the Plaintiff’s counsel inquired if the amount offered at mediation was “still available”. After additional negotiations and with the great support from our claims professionals team, we were able to settle this matter for $38,500.00 just a few days before trial was to begin. If you would like any additional information on this case, please contact GJVernis@National-Law.com or IAlsafeer@Florida-Law.com.