The following blog entry is written from a defendant’s position after a jury trial verdict for plaintiff. Reviewing this kind of briefing should help potential plaintiffs and clients better understand how parties in a personal injury case present such issues to the court.
(Please note: the names and locations of all parties have been changed to protect the confidentiality of the participants in this motorcycle accident/personal injury case and its proceedings.)
Plaintiff testified at trial that he currently has pain in the left hip/pelvis area which he rates as a 3 on a scale of 0-10. He did experience more acute flare ups 1-2 times a year since he has been released back to work and has returned to Dr. Jones, who has sent him to physical therapy and taken him off work for a week or two.
In terms of future treatment and care, Dr. Jones testified that the only treatment he could offer plaintiff for this injury was physical therapy and medication. He released plaintiff to go back to work in November 2005 and since that time, plaintiff has returned to his office 1-2 times a year for flare ups at which time Dr. Jones has taken him off work for 1-2 weeks. Dr. Jones testified that he expected that plaintiff would have on-going pain for 3-5 years following the accident however, because the case was already 3.5 years after the accident, he would expect that plaintiff will have the on-going pain for another 1.5 years.
Since being released back to work in November 2005, plaintiff estimated that he has missed a total of six weeks of work due to this motorcycle accident. Plaintiff testified that his total past lost wages were $28,686 however, there was no documentary evidence was admitted in support of this testimony.
THE VERDICT
he matter was submitted to the jury on February 5, 2008. In or about February 5, 2008 the jury rendered the following Special Verdict:
Past Medical Expenses: $15,221.75
Past Lost Earnings: $28,686.00
Future Medical Expenses: $720.00
Future Lost Earnings: $4,250.00
Past Pain and Suffering: $190,000.00
Future Pain and Suffering: $80,000.00
Total: $318,877.75
In light of the evidence that plaintiff suffered only soft tissue injuries from the accident and had only $15,221.75 in past medical expenses defendant maintains that the jury award for past pain and suffering in the amount of $190,000 as well as the award for future pain and suffering in the amount of $80,000 was extremely excessive, and unsupported by the evidence. A new trial is warranted under the circumstances. (See Part 3 of 5.)
For more information you are welcome to contact Sacramento personal injury lawyer, Moseley Collins.