Defense Verdict: Sarasota County, Florida (Trucking Negligence)

Tampa Partner, Lindsay Brigman, and Associate, Sonny Romano, recently obtained a defense verdict in a trucking negligence case in Sarasota County, Florida.

This was an admitted liability collision in which our defendant driver rear-ended the Plaintiff at a very low speed while he was stopped a red light, causing limited property damage. The Plaintiff did not immediately seek medical treatment, and insisted at the scene that he was fine. He eventually sought treatment at an area ER later in the day, and claimed neck pain only. Eleven days later, he claimed back pain as well. Plaintiff ultimately had a discectomy at L4-5 and claimed he developed discitis and osteomyelitis from the procedure, necessitating antibiotic therapy and causing him significant back pain. He claimed permanent injury including ongoing pain and suffering that has gotten continually worse since the accident.

We tried the case on damages and causation only. At the end of the five day trial, Plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award more than $8 million. The jury found no causation between the subject collision and the Plaintiff’s subsequent medical treatment, and returned a complete defense verdict.

This case was transferred to our office less than a year ago, and just four months before the original trial date. Congratulations Lindsay and Sonny on this excellent work and this outstanding result!