Plaintiff turns down $150,000 and secures $15,000 verdict at trial
Facts: Plaintiff was a construction foreman at a residential housing development when he was struck by a truck driven by Defendant Jack Schell. Mr. Schell was on the job for Defendant Metro Mechanical at the time. Negligence of the Defendants was admitted; however, there was some dispute over how forcefully Plaintiff was actually struck.
Alleged injury/damages: Plaintiff claimed a host of injuries were caused by the accident, including a lower back injury that resulted in cage fusion surgery at the L5-S1 level. Despite these claims, Defendant presented evidence on cross examination of the Plaintiff and his four testifying medical providers that all of his injuries pre-existed the accident at least to some extent. Total past medical expenses were more than $160,000. Plaintiff also claimed he could not return to work and claimed total lost income of more than $1 million.
Last offer/Last demand: Plaintiff’s last demand following mediation was $1 million. Defendants offered $150,000.
Result: $15,000 verdict for plaintiff
Court: State Court of Henry County, Georgia
Attorneys: Richie Foster and Mike Crawford for Defendants; Jeff Pope and Mark Howard of Pope & Howard for Plaintiffs.