Galveston County Jury Awards $70,159 in Red-Light Crash

On March 31, 2015, a head-on collision occurred on Dixie Highway near Pages Lane, Kentucky, when an at-fault driver ran a red light. The plaintiff, not wearing a seat belt, sustained soft-tissue injuries and sought emergency care the next day; her minor daughter also sustained a laceration. The plaintiff first settled with the at-fault driver for $25,000. The plaintiff then filed an underinsured motorist (UIM) claim against her insurer, seeking medical expenses and pain and suffering for chronic neck and back pain. The insurer disputed the injury extent, asserting they were minor and degenerative. The insurer also argued the plaintiff's non-use of a seat belt contributed to her damages. Expert medical testimony addressed the severity and origin of the plaintiff's reported symptoms. The at-fault driver's liability was not contested at the UIM trial. A Kentucky jury found the at-fault driver 90% at fault and the plaintiff 10% at fault for not wearing a seat belt. The jury awarded $17,985 for medical expenses and $133,750 for pain and suffering, totaling $151,735. During deliberations, the jury questioned the court about agreeing on a damage number. A final judgment was anticipated to reflect deductions for comparative fault and prior payments.

A rear-end collision occurred on Highway 80 in Perry County on August 25, 2014. The defendant, who was reportedly checking to see if the road was clear to pass, struck the plaintiff's vehicle. The defendant stipulated fault for the moderate collision. The plaintiff, a 64-year-old retired coal miner, was treated and released from a local emergency room for apparent neck and back strain, then sought follow-up care with a family doctor before beginning chiropractic treatment. Evidence also indicated a disc protrusion in the plaintiff's neck. The plaintiff filed a lawsuit blaming the defendant for the injuries sustained. Medical proof at trial included testimony from a chiropractor and an orthopedic expert. The plaintiff sought damages for medical expenses totaling $18,156 and $500,000 for pain and suffering. The defense argued that the plaintiff exaggerated the injuries, presenting expert testimony suggesting only a temporary strain that should have resolved quickly and that the disc protrusion was pre-existing and unrelated to the crash. The defense also questioned the plaintiff's credibility regarding a prior accident from 25 years earlier, which the plaintiff had denied during a deposition but had previously pursued a lawsuit over. The plaintiff stated a lapse of memory for the prior incident. During deliberations, the jury requested to see the police report and the deposition from the plaintiff's prior accident case, but the judge informed them these items were not admitted into evidence. After 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury awarded the plaintiff $12,000 for medical bills and $110,000 for pain and suffering, totaling $122,000. Prior to the verdict, the parties had entered a Hi-Lo agreement with parameters of $100,000 to $25,000. Consequently, judgment was entered for the plaintiff in the sum of $100,000.

A plaintiff filed a medical malpractice lawsuit alleging a nurse negligently administered an injection, causing permanent injury. The plaintiff, who received injections for migraine headaches, claimed the defendant nurse failed to properly calculate anatomical landmarks before administering Phenergan in the right hip area. The plaintiff asserted that the caustic material was injected near the sciatic nerve, causing immediate severe pain, numbness, and a permanent limp. The plaintiff later developed Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and underwent surgical implantation of a neurostimulator for pain management. The defendant denied negligence, arguing the injection was not given in the wrong area and was unrelated to the plaintiff's complaints. The defendant noted a lack of immediate documentation for the plaintiff's pain complaints. The plaintiff countered that she reported immediate pain to the nurse and made documented complaints the following day. The plaintiff also argued that the nurse's deposition testimony, which demonstrated her landmark calculation, indicated an improper starting point for the injection. The defendant further suggested the plaintiff's difficulties stemmed from a car accident occurring several weeks after the injection. The plaintiff disputed this, stating the collision primarily resulted in cervical complaints and did not cause new hip issues, emphasizing consistent hip pain reports since the injection. After a week-long trial, the jury found for the plaintiff, awarding $2,000,000 for past and future pain and suffering. This award was subsequently reduced to $755,000 to comply with Maryland's medical malpractice cap on non-economic damages for the year the cause of action arose.

On June 19, 2019, in Brandenburg, Kentucky, a vehicle driven by the plaintiff was rear-ended by another driver while stopped in traffic on Old Mill Road. Although the plaintiff's truck sustained no visible damage and airbags did not deploy, the plaintiff reported immediate neck pain and a headache. The plaintiff was transported to a local hospital, treated, and released for an apparent soft-tissue injury. The at-fault driver was uninsured, prompting the plaintiff to seek uninsured motorist coverage from his insurance carrier, the defendant. The defendant conceded fault for the collision but contested the extent of the plaintiff's damages. The plaintiff subsequently underwent physical therapy and pain management treatments, including spinal injections for continued neck and back pain, reporting some improvement. The defendant's orthopedic physician, through an independent medical examination, opined that the plaintiff sustained only a temporary strain superimposed on pre-existing conditions and that much of the subsequent medical treatment was unrelated to the crash. The defendant tendered a pre-trial offer of $200,000. The case proceeded to a three-day trial in Brandenburg, where the jury considered only damages. The jury, by a 9-3 vote, awarded the plaintiff $50,728 for past medical expenses, $50,000 for future medical care, and $20,000 for pain and suffering, for a total of $120,728. A judgment consistent with the verdict was entered. The defendant later moved to delay enforcement of the judgment until the plaintiff satisfied a Medicare lien.

On May 9, 2015, a passenger was involved in a vehicle collision at the intersection of Fifth and Broadway in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The vehicle carrying the plaintiff was struck by a second car, whose driver had proceeded through a red light. The plaintiff was treated at an emergency room and subsequently for an aggravation of degenerative cervical and disc conditions, incurring medical bills totaling $19,478. After receiving $25,000 from the at-fault driver's insurer, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in Jefferson Circuit Court against his own carrier, the defendant insurer, seeking Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage. The case was later removed to federal court on diversity jurisdiction. The plaintiff claimed $19,478 for medical expenses and $129,000 for pain and suffering. The defendant insurer argued that the claimed injuries were minimal and pointed to the plaintiff's history of similar complaints from a previous accident seven months prior. The case proceeded to a jury trial, which focused solely on the issue of damages. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $119,478, comprising $19,478 for medical expenses and $100,000 for pain and suffering. This award exceeded the $35,000 threshold required to activate UIM coverage and the $60,000 amount that would have exhausted the defendant insurer's UIM policy. The court subsequently entered a judgment for the plaintiff for the $25,000 UIM policy limits.