JURY RETURNS $1.8 MILLION FOR BACK INJURY
Attorney
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A Craven County jury deliberated thirty minutes before returning a verdict of $1,875,000.00 for the exacerbation of a pre-existing back injury.
It is always difficult for an injured victim of negligence to receive adequate compensation for their injuries when they have a pre-existing injury.
A Craven County jury deliberated thirty minutes before returning a verdict of $1,875,000.00 for the exacerbation of a pre-existing back injury.
It is always difficult for an injured victim of negligence to receive adequate compensation for their injuries when they have a pre-existing injury.
However, a September 17, 2007 verdict from Craven County is an exception to that general rule.
The plaintiff had been disabled since a 1974 motor vehicle collision. However, despite the disability, he and his wife served as foster parents.
The victim's pickup truck was hit head on by a furniture truck. Injuries in this collision made his pre-existing spinal condition worse and required surgery to repair hardware which had been inserted in his back after the 1974 collision. In addition, the victim underwent a second surgical procedure to diffuse his lower spine.
The defendant furniture distributor hired a retired doctor who claimed that the two surgical procedures were not related to the head on collision. It did not take the jury long to reject this doctor's testimony.
Of course, the lawyer for the insurance company who defended the defendant furniture distributor pointed out to the jury that the injured plaintiff suffered significant lower back pain since his 1974 accident and that the accident which occurred on August 7, 2003 did not change the victim's pre-existing back condition.
The victim's lawyer on the other hand presented medical witnesses along with several lay witnesses to show that the victim suffered a significant increase in pain after the 2003 collision and that, although he was disabled prior to the most recent collision, he had suffered a substantial loss of enjoyment of life because of these injuries.
The plaintiff had incurred medical expenses of approximately $450,000.00 as a result of the head on collision with the furniture truck.
Prior to trial the parties entered into a high-low agreement. Such an agreement provides that regardless of the jury's verdict, the plaintiff was guaranteed to receive from the defendant no less than the low amount of the agreement and defendant was guaranteed not to have to pay any more than the highest amount. Pursuant to the high-low agreement, the most that the plaintiff could recover was $1,130,000.00. Therefore, even though the verdict was $1,875,000.00, the injured victim accepted $1,130,000.00 from the defendant pursuant to the high-low agreement.
For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Car and Motorcycle Accidents.