Volusia County Jury Issues Defense Judgment in Intersection Crash

In December 2007, a motor vehicle collision occurred at the intersection of Nova Road and Sterhaus Drive in Volusia County, Florida. The plaintiff, a passenger in a northbound vehicle on Sterhaus Road, sustained injuries when a westbound vehicle on Nova Road, operated by the defendant, entered the intersection. The defendant claimed to have stopped at a stop sign and proceeded after observing the plaintiff's vehicle signal a right turn, but the plaintiff's vehicle continued northbound, leading to the crash.

The plaintiff filed a negligence action in July 2009, alleging the defendant failed to yield at the stop sign. The lawsuit sought to recover approximately $89,000 in medical expenses for neck injuries, including a two-level diskectomy and fusion. Plaintiff's experts testified that the neck injury and subsequent surgery were directly caused by the accident. Conversely, the defendant argued that the plaintiff's surgery resulted from pre-existing degenerative changes in the neck, unrelated to the collision. A radiology expert for the defense supported this position, stating the surgery was due to degenerative conditions, not trauma from the accident.

In February 2012, a jury awarded the plaintiff $5,462 for past medical expenses. This amount covered only five months of treatment following the accident and did not include the costs associated with the diskectomy and fusion surgery. The court subsequently entered a defense judgment after set-offs in March 2012. The outcome suggested the jury found that the more significant medical procedures claimed by the plaintiff were not sufficiently linked to the incident caused by the defendant.