Tampa Team Obtains Highly Favorable Verdict For Property Owner Client In Lawsuit Over Traffic Accident

Tampa Managing Partner John Rine and Partner Nick Dareneau obtained a very favorable verdict for their property owner client in a Sarasota County trial in a lawsuit arising from a traffic accident. At the end of closing arguments, plaintiff's counsel requested appropriately $18 million from the jury. The jury returned a net verdict of just over a thousand dollars.

The plaintiff was on a scooter and was involved in an accident with an SUV in a parking lot intersection. Our firm represented the property owner. The plaintiffs argued that the landscape vegetation was too tall and violated the sight lines of the two drivers, and that the height of the shrubbery violated the owner's landscaping contract and a local sight line ordinance. They also argued that the intersection lacked a stop sign in contrast to the other six parking lot entrances, which had stop signs.

The plaintiff was a 38-year-old woman at the time of the 2022 accident. She was transported to the ER from the scene in an ambulance and admitted into the trauma unit. She was diagnosed with a thoracic fracture, a sacrum fracture, pars fracture, spondylolysthesis, and nine herniated discs in her lumbar and cervical spine. She underwent a fusion surgery on her lumbar spine after she continued to complain of pain after steroid injections and chiropractic care. At the time of trial, she had recommendations for two more spine surgeries and a series of radiofrequency ablations.

The plaintiff's attorneys sought to admit past medical bills totaling approximately $320k and presented a doctor who testified that her future lifetime care would cost approximately $1.7 million.

Through motion practice, our firm was able to reduce the presentable past medical bills to approximately $167k. We were also able to prevent a jury instruction about the local ordinance. Our lawyers also successfully got the nonparty other driver on the verdict form for comparative fault. That driver had settled before the trial for policy limits.

Mr. Rine and Mr. Dareneau argued successfully to the jury that neither the stop sign nor the vegetation caused the accident. Laser scan video simulations were shown to the jury demonstrating that neither driver was paying adequate attention and either could have avoided the accident.

Our lawyers also presented aa neurosurgeon educated at Yale who testified that the surgery was due to a preexisting condition and that the bulk of her treatment was unrelated to the accident. The lawyers further argued that plaintiff's behavior in and out of court and her recent course of treatment was inconsistent with her allegations of pain.

A billing expert was also presented who showed that plaintiff's medical past and future medical bills were grossly inflated.

After a six-day trial, the jury returned a verdict assigning 98% of the fault to the two drivers and only 2% to our client. The plaintiff was awarded $60,000 for her past medical costs and zero dollars for future medical costs and pain and suffering. That resulted in a net verdict of $1,200.

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