States

January 12, 2018

Huge Cerebral Palsy Verdict for 1984 Birth

The purpose of this post is to discuss a cerebral palsy verdict for an injury that occurred in 1984 and to explain the statute of limitations in birth injury cases in Washington in 2018.

A Saratoga County, Washington jury awarded $43.5 million to a woman who sued the former Bellevue Maternity Hospital in Niskayuna for severe brain damage she suffered during her birth in 1984.

While the Plaintiff is blessed with above-average intelligence with a degree from Arizona State University, she uses a wheelchair and lacks motor skills due to the brain damage from cerebral palsy.

February 2, 2017

Average Injury Verdicts in California | 2020 Update

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

This page looks at the settlement and trial value of personal injury cases in California. This page was last updated on April 1, 2020.

Jury Verdict Research found that the average money damage award for personal injury trials in California is $1,814,094. The median verdict, perhaps a better statistic, is $114,305. Other interesting facts from the study:

The median verdict in a wrongful death case is $2,212,936, compared to the national average of $1,450,000

January 23, 2017

GEICO Verdicts and Settlements in Oregon in 2016

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Below is a list of GEICO settlements and verdicts in Oregon in 2016. GEICO is not a company we are fond of, underscored by this 2019 California appellate opinion.

Oregon: $120,000 Verdict. An adult female is driving in the left lane of a three-lane, one-way road when she is struck by a vehicle attempting to make a left turn from the center lane. She was insured by GEICO, and filed a claim to recover underinsured motorist benefits. GEICO argues the extent of her injuries, but a jury awards her $1,991.69 for economic damages and $73,008.31 for non-economic damages.
Oregon: $99,978 Verdict. The plaintiff is traveling on an off-ramp in front of the defendant’s vehicle. The plaintiff stops her vehicle at a stop sign. She inches out to look at traffic, and the defendant’s vehicle strikes the rear of her vehicle. The plaintiff suffers a left shoulder injury requiring surgery as a result, as well as thoracic and lumbar sprains. The defendant is insured by GEICO, and ordered to pay $74,978 in medical expenses, $20,000 in lost wages, and $5,000 in non-economic damages to the plaintiff.

September 13, 2016

Herniated Disc Case Values in Florida

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Value of Injury Cases: Disc Injuries

I think it is useful to write about jury verdicts and give thoughts as to why I think the jury found as they did and the issues that arose in the case. Why? Because people are looking online for information about the value of their cases. So we summarize one case, Mayrink v. Luchsinger, the long way and then give sample settlements and verdicts in more Florida disc injury cases.

On our website, we provide a ton of verdict information for victims, many of which suffered a herniated disc. This helps give some lens to the value of a case. But it hardly tells the real story of the claim and why a jury may have valued it how they did. So hopefully posts like this help educate those looking for answers.

Average back injury settlement

Facts of Mayrink v. Luchsinger

This is a herniated disc case. Plaintiff, a painter by trade, crashed into a median strip after being pushed off the road by the defendant who must have changed lanes without looking. Usually, in these lane change cases, you almost invariably have a liability fight on your hands. Defense counsel in this case, probably wisely, admitted responsibility. Why is this wise? Defense counsel often admits liability because they know if they fight and lose there is real credibility lost on the scope of the injuries battle. By admitting fault, the defendant seems more credible and honest than if they fight on liability and lose. Continue reading

November 28, 2015

Negligent Credentialing in South Dakota

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

A South Dakota judge ruled this week that health care providers are subject to negligent credentialing lawsuits when they fail to properly credential doctors.

Judge Bruce Anderson made another important ruling: that even people on the credentialing committee may be subject to suit. This has not real practical implications because a hospitals is going to stand behind the committee. But it is never fun to be sued personally even if you have no real exposure.

The judge also found that hospitals cannot claim peer review privileges, as an absolute defense against discovery requests. This is very pro patient safety and could be a ruling that could start to erode the absolute defense from discovery; that has long been the case in Maryland and in most states. The judge’s logic: hospitals may have an obligation, in some cases, to the public that outweighs peer review confidentiality. Makes a lot of sense to me.

September 30, 2015

Settlement Value of New Jersey Personal Injury Cases

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Jury Verdict Research conducted a study and found that the median award in a personal injury case is approximately $100,000. This is twice the national average. The bad news for New Jersey Plaintiffs is that they only win in 36 percent of personal injury cases that go to trial.

New Jersey has a good sample size to work with to compute this data. Over 130,000 civil lawsuits are filed every year. I don’t have data on how many of them are personal injury cases. But I can estimate: a lot.

August 4, 2015

5 Interesting Verdicts in Virginia in 2015

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

Here are 5 interesting Virginia jury verdicts in 2015 that you might find interesting:

$13,000 Settlement – A 31 year-old man is driving his car on the highway at a rate of around 60 mph. He approaches an intersection where a woman driving a pickup truck is attempting to make a turn in the middle of the intersection. She starts to travel out into the intersection but stops upon seeing another driver’s car trying to make a left turn in front of her. Contact was unavoidable at that point, and the woman clips the man’s tires. He immediately complains of neck pain and is transported to the hospital via EMS, where doctors diagnose him with soft tissue injuries. He sues both of the involved drivers, claiming that they were negligent in the operation of their vehicles. The defendants contend that plaintiffs injuries were actually from a motorcycle accident that he sustained years ago. Prior to trial, the parties settle for $13,000.

July 6, 2015

Five Interesting Personal Injury Verdicts in Pennsylvania in 2015

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

There have been a lot of interesting personal injury and wrongful death verdicts and settlements in 2015 in Pennsylvania. Here are five verdicts you will find of particular interest.

$450,000 Verdict – A woman is descending the stairs at her row home when she slips on one of the middle steps. She reaches for the hand rail, but just misses it, causing her to fall down the remaining stairs. The woman calls an ambulance, which transports her to the emergency room. At the ER, she is diagnosed with a fractured shin bone and a tear of the quadriceps. She has to receive care after the fall given that her leg is immobilized. After the accident, she sues the property-owner, alleging negligent maintenance of the stairs. In her lawsuit, she brings up the fact that she had told the property-manager about how slippery the stairs were on two occasions. At trial, her stair-expert suggests that the stairs were covered with too much polyurethane. This convinces the jury, who awards her $450,000.

March 19, 2015

Illinois Malpractice Verdicts | Malpractice Settlement Value

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

I think sample settlements and verdicts are a useful tool in conjunction with other tools to help victims better understand at least the range of values in a medical malpractice case. Clearly, no two cases are the same and you cannot summarizes a case in a paragraph. Sometimes, I have tried or settled cases where there is no way I could summarize the case in a way that would explain why the plaintiff won or why the verdict was as high or low as it was. Said differently, reading these is important and education in understanding the value of medical malpractice claims in Illinois but you can only learn so much from these. If you have what appears to be an exactly identical case, the results could be very different.

All of these verdicts are from 2014. Illinois is a big state A lot of cases go to trial here.

January 23, 2015

Missouri Talking About Damage Caps Again | 2015 Update

by Ronald V. Miller, Jr.

After a divided Supreme Court of Missouri found the legislature’s $350,000 statutory cap unconstitutional 2 year ago, opponents of letting juries decide just how victims should be compensated said the sky was going to fall in Missouri. Last September, Missouri Supreme Court nixed a statutory limit on the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded against defendants. Tort reformers screamed doctors would flee, malpractice rates would skyrocket, and no one would want to do business in Missouri. This never happened. But now, some in the Missouri legislature want to pretend that never happened and want to take another shot at caps.