Synopsis:  An auto carrier had taken responsibility for its insured that caused a Car Crash.  The auto carrier offered $2,000 to settle all medical bills and future care.  The medical bills totaled more than $5,000.  The offer was rejected by the injured party.  This case went to arbitration.  The victim won the maximum amount permissible which was $10,000.  The auto carrier appealed for a jury verdict.  The jurors came back with a zero ($0) verdict in 2011, four years after the car crash.

Car Crash Year:  2007

Weaknesses in Case: Poorly written police report containing inaccuracies, skeptical jurors.

History:

In early January of 2011, I had the opportunity to see the workings of a court room proceeding.  I was anticipating a favorable outcome for our patient and was looking forward to seeing justice in action.
It had been approximately 4 years since I went to any court proceedings involving a car crash.  My previous experience included arbitration and mediation.  In both cases, our patient succeeded in settling their case at a higher value than the artificially low offer from the auto carrier. 

I spent hours reviewing the patient notes.  I brushed my skills for a court room presentation.  After a two day case at trial, the jurors came back and offered zero ($0) to our patient for her injuries that the auto carrier had accepted liability.  In essence, the outcome was a disaster.

The injury occurred in January of 2007.  The target vehicle (our patient) received around $1,200 worth of damages, from a rear end collision.  The damage to the bullet vehicle was unknown, and not provided by that auto carrier.  As well, no pictures were produced by the auto carrier.  However, the attorney did produce pictures of the target vehicle with barely visible property damage.  The attorney representing our patient was excellent from start to finish.  The attorney representing the at fault liable auto carrier was effective in using deception, but there was no extravagant performance. 

Facts of the case:
  
1. Auto carrier offered $2,000 to settle this matter.  There were at least $5,000 worth of medical bills: Hospital, Chiropractic along with Physical Therapy, and Radiology.  This offer was rejected by the injured party, since it was lower than the combined total cost of all her medical bills.  In addition, the offer was rejected since it did not provide for future care.

2.  At arbitration, our patient won with a settlement of $10,000.  Shortly thereafter, the auto carrier appealed.
 
3.  At the jury trial, everyone worked hard, including the at fault auto Carrier.  By the way, the person who caused the injuries was not even present in court. 

4. As the physician at trial, I personally spent 2.5 hours on the stand.  It was a lot of work.   The whole court process lasted about two days. 

5. Jurors offered $0 verdict to the injured party to which liability had been accpeted and acknowledged in the court room.

Why such a disastrous outcome?   

The twelve member panel ( jury of her peers ) came back and offered a zero ($0) to our patient.  This verdict was a disappointment and discouraging, in light of the fact that the auto carrier had accepted liability.  The attorney representing the injured patient was able to speak with a juror and inquired as to 'why they came back with a zero verdict'.  The juror stated they believed the police report which showed that the plaintiff’s vehicle was still moving at impact and not stationary as the plaintiff said. The jurors believed that over the plaintiff’s own testimony. The juror also expressed that they did not believe that the crash produced any injuries to her body.  Therefore, they awarded her no damages.  In essence, the jurors did not believe what she said about how it happened and what it did to her.

View point:

Major or minor car crashes can cause major health problems.  Factors that can make a car carsh outcome worst are sex, age, seating position, condition of person prior to car crash, types of vehicles involved etc... For example, females are twice as likely to be injured than males.  The older you are, the longer you will require to recover.  If you had a pre-existing condition such as a disc problem, the smallest of car crashes can have drastic consequences.  A car crash involving the same to vehicles is a terrible thing.  A car crash involving a small car and a large truck is worst.  A car and a train, you get the idea.  The larger the vehicle, the more severe are the impacts.  One last thing, todays' bumper are improved and made to sustain impacts up to a certain level.  Even when there are scratches in a car crash, this type of impact can be devastating.  The person hurt in this car crash was a female.  She was around 50 years of age.  She was sturck by a larger vehicle. 

A typical police report can have some inaccuracies.  And, in this police report, there were minor discrepancies that went uncorrected.  

The other aspect I noticed is that some of the jurors did not appear to want to serve as a juror – a duty for a law abiding citizen in a free country.  In fact, some of the jurors closed their eyes and appeared to sleep during the proceedings. 

After all the testimony, presenting evidence, photos, and work, I now understand why attorneys are reluctant to take these cases to court.  The jurors are allowing auto carriers to get away with a zero verdict, even when the facts were that the auto carrier's client was responsible for the cause of this collision. Jurors seem reluctant to award damages on cases where there are injuries only to soft tissues and they believe it to be a minor impact.   

Lastly, the at fault auto carrier defended itself at a cost much higher than the $10,000 won in arbitration.  In other words, although a zero dollar verdict was awarded, the liable carrier's defense cost was in excess of $10,000.  This should be an eye opener to those reading this article.

Conclusion:

Each and every one of us has a fiduciary responsibility to serve our community as a juror when we are called to do so.  Yes, it may seem an inconvenience.  But, if we allow the select few who are unable to escape the duties that this country requires of us, then we can expect inept jurors yielding poor trial outcomes. 

When we look at sripture, Matthew 27 (NLT) states: ¹⁵ "Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. ¹⁶ This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas. ¹⁷ As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ (Pilate, the Roman governor knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.) ... The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!”  Barabbas, a known prisoner, was freed and an innocent person was convicted in his place.   

If and when you are called to serve as a juror, I hope that you will accept this duty with pleasure, responsibility, and with an alert mind.  

With Warmest Regards,
Dr. Salvatore C. Daniele