Anne M. Belanger successfully defended an automobile liability case in Cook County. In closing statements, the plaintiff requested $488,000 in damages; the jury returned a verdict of $500.
This case arose from a rear end accident in 1997. The defense maintained that the plaintiff cut over from a right lane into a left lane without a turn signal and then stopped to turn left into a strip mall. The plaintiff claimed she had been in the left lane all along and in fact was stopped for three minutes prior to the defendant striking the rear of her vehicle at a high rate of speed. However, cross examination revealed that she had admitted in a statement given three days after the accident that she never saw the defendant’s vehicle prior to the contact and she was not stopped “long at all.” The plaintiff waited six days before going to her regular doctor to complain of her back and knee and then waited another six months before complaining of neck pain. Despite these facts, she claimed in her discovery answers that she had two herniated discs.
The defense hired orthopedic surgeon expert Dr. Frank Phillips to dispute these claims. The plaintiff subsequently changed her claim to that of an aggravation of these pre-existing herniations, but added a new C-7 radiculopathy.
The trial began April 19th with Judge Daniel Kelly ruling on motions in limine and the then existing evidence depositions of two of plaintiff’s treaters and the defendant’s expert. The trial was then continued to May 4, 2005. In the interim, the plaintiff took another evidence deposition, that of treater Dr. Cozzens. However, Dr. Cozzens was unable to testify as to the cost of future surgery and therefore the defense called him as a witness in their own case in chief because he had no opinion that the herniated discs were related to the auto accident. Also of interest, three weeks prior to trial the plaintiff claimed she had $42,000.00 in medical bills. The defense repeatedly contested these bills on the basis that they were unpaid, undisclosed, or unrelated to the subject accident. Finally on the date of trial the plaintiff’s attorney tendered an exhibit listing the medical bills at $24,000+.
When the plaintiff was cross examined, it was revealed that at least $8,000 of those charges were unrelated to the accident and at least $1,000 of that was for an emergency room charge incurred when the plaintiff cut her hand while gardening. She claimed she had been unable to garden since 1997 as a result of the subject car accident.
When all was said and done, it appears the $500 verdict will be reduced even further because the plaintiff accepted $400 from her insurance company in January of 1998. Total recovery will amount to $100.00.
