Davis v. Vondersmith (Gwinnett State Court No. 16-C-01541-S1)
Oct 17, 2019OUTCOME: Plaintiff's verdict: $480,000.00 (verdict exceeded policy limits by $380,000.00).
$480,000 jury verdict for my client in an auto collision lawsuit in Gwinnett County Georgia in which State Farm never offered more than $10,000 to settle the case. I tried the case with my co-counsel A ... ndrae Reneau and Lawrence Buddoo. This was a 10-12 mph rear-end collision with $1,400 damage to our client's car that was minimally observable in post-collision photos. Our client suffered herniated discs in his low back which ultimately necessitated a lumbar fusion surgery. We had a great client who had no prior history of any back issues. This case was fiercely litigated by State Farm who paid its experts over $50,000 to try and avoid an excess exposure verdict. State Farm retained local neurosurgeon Hal Silcox to testify that the herniated discs in our client's low back were caused by degenerative changes. Their chief expert witness was Dr. Charles "Ted" Bain who holds himself out as an accident reconstructionist, biomechanic and medical doctor. Dr. Bain testified that the impact-related speed change (delta V) did not exceed 3.4 mph and at that speed there was no way for the collision to cause our client's injuries. The case turned on the fact that Dr. Bain failed to consider that the active headrest behind our client's head deployed as a result of the collision and it only deploys when the delta V exceeds 6 mph. That distinction was critical because Dr. Bain had previously testified that individuals can suffer back injuries when the delta V threshold exceeds 5 mph. Dan Prout and Travis Meyer at Waldon Adelman defended the case.
