Washington Jury Awards $33.49 Million in Personal Injury Case

A Washington jury rendered a verdict on April 9, 2018, in a case involving the plaintiff and the defendant. The award to the plaintiff included $709,612 for future lost wages, $15,333,562 for future medical and life care expenses, $2,117,000 in past non-economic damages, and $15,330,000 in future non-economic damages. Both the plaintiff and the defendant presented expert testimony to the jury, covering fields such as accident reconstruction, vehicle design, human factors, life care planning, economics, and medical specialties. Few other details were available regarding the incident or legal claims.

In Washington, a jury awarded the plaintiff a total of $33,490,174. The award included $709,612 for future lost wages or earning capacity, $15,333,562 for future medical and life care expenses, $2,117,000 in past non-economic damages, and $15,330,000 in future non-economic damages. Few details about the incident leading to the lawsuit were available. During the proceedings, both sides presented expert testimony. The plaintiff's experts included specialists in human factors/biomechanics, vehicle design, vehicle handling/dynamics, product safety, accident reconstruction, life care planning, economics, and physiatry/spinal cord injuries. The defendant's experts testified on accident reconstruction, vehicle design, human factors/biomechanics, life care planning, economics, physiatry, and sleep medicine.

An owner of a highly modified 2010 Honda Odyssey was involved in an auto collision. The vehicle owners, who had an insurance contract with their insurance companies, claimed the insurers failed to reasonably and timely adjust the vehicle's value. They asserted this constituted a breach of contractual obligations to pay the actual cash value of the vehicle. The owners filed a breach of contract action in the Superior Court of California, County of Ventura, against their insurance companies. They also alleged a breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, seeking general and special damages, including for property loss, pain and suffering, mental anguish, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees. The defendant insurers removed the case to the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, denied the allegations, and asserted affirmative defenses, including failure to state a cause of action and failure to mitigate damages. The parties subsequently settled their claims. A stipulation for dismissal with prejudice was jointly filed by the vehicle owners and one of the defendant insurance companies.

A plaintiff filed a lawsuit following a motor vehicle accident involving a taxicab, alleging injuries. An orthopedic surgeon provided expert testimony on behalf of the plaintiff. The defense presented testimony from an expert in vehicle accident reconstruction. The case concluded with an award of $391,645.

A motor vehicle accident case involved expert testimony from both the plaintiff and the defendant. The plaintiff presented experts in forensic economics, accounting, physical medicine and rehabilitation, pain medicine, public health, life care planning, orthopedic surgery, and applied economics. The defendant's experts specialized in litigation support services, medical-legal law, psychiatry, neurology, orthopedic surgery, accounting, economic damages, wrongful death valuations, forensic accounting, vocational rehabilitation, life care planning, and neuropsychology. Few other details regarding the incident, legal claims, arguments, or the ultimate resolution of the case were available.