Jury Verdict of $102,417 When Car Runs Red Light
Case Summary:
Amount: $102,416.79Court: Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date: June 2005
Plaintiff's Counsel: Andrew R. Young
Description: Automobile Accident
A verdict was handed down in favor of the plaintiff in the amount of $102,416.79 against a driver who negligently failed to yield the right of way. The jury victim was a 54 year old woman, who was the front seat passenger in a van traveling through an intersection on a green light. The defendant driver of the other vehicle failed to stop for a red light, and collided with the van in which the plaintiff was traveling. The plaintiff sustained injuries to her neck and back, including a herniated lumbar disk with nerve root impingement. Her treatment consisted of emergency room visits, physical therapy, nerve root injections, pain management, rehabilitation, and a home exercise program. Allstate Insurance Company hired attorneys to represent the defendant driver. Defendant argued that, due to the plaintiff's prior automobile accidents and medical history, her herniated disc was unrelated to this accident. This, coupled with the fact that the van sustained minimal property damage (the van's plastic bumper having absorbed the impact), caused Allstate to offer a minimal settlement of $20,000 to resolve the case prior to trial. This offer left the plaintiff no choice but to take her claim to a jury of her peers, which awarded $102,416.79 for her injury.
