Court awards victim $245,000 for pain and suffering only to lose the award by the court of appeals

Author: Attorney Daniel Villalobos

Client Injured In Automobile Accident

This entry is regarding a recent lawsuit and resulting jury verdict in Miami Dade Florida. Please note that our law firm did not represent the victim. This case citation can be found at Ortega v. Belony. The victim was involved in an automobile accident in which he suffered a broken neck. After the accident, the victim was rushed to the hospital where he was given a medical halo for three months. After the medical halo was removed, several doctors recommended surgery. However, given the client’s age and condition, the client refused to undergo the surgery. He did however undergo several injections for pain.

Judge Awards $245,000 For Pain And Suffering

The victim then filed a lawsuit in Florida against the driver who was believed to be at fault. However, to everyone’s surprise, the jury found the victim to be 70% at fault in the accident. They also found that the victim did not have difficulty performing daily activities and that the victim had no intention of seeking further medical care related to the accident and his broken neck. As a result, the jury only awarded him $33,000 for medical expenses and $5,000 for future pain and suffering. Even the judge was shocked at this and so the judge overrode the jury’s award and awarded the victim an additional $245,000 for pain and suffering.

Court Of Appeals Overturns The Trial Court Judge’s Award Of $245,000

Just as quickly as someone can win money, someone can lose money. After the trial court judge awarded $245,000 to the victim, the court of appeals looked at all the evidence, the laws regarding jury awards, and the laws regarding a judge’s ability to overturn a jury award. According to the court of appeals, the court felt that the jury award was proper and should not have been changed by the trial court judge. As a result, the court of appeals reversed and vacated the trial court’s decision and remanded the case back to the trial court with instructions to enter a judgment for $33,000 for medical expenses and $5,000 for pain and suffering.

Don’t Hire Just Any Law Firm From An Advertisement

The purpose of this post is to inform you of how important it is to have the right law firm representing you. Had the victim had a better law firm representing him in court, perhaps he could have received thousands of dollars more for his injuries. Who your lawyer is does make a difference. Our firm has been here for over 35 years. If you are hurt in any type of accident, call the lawyers at the Law Firm of Dell and Schaefer. We do not charge a cost or fee unless we recover money for you.