5 Interesting Verdicts in Virginia in 2015

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 vaflagmake 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.

$100,000 Settlement – An 88-year-old woman is operating her vehicle at approximately 50 mph when she approaches an intersection.   You think it is going to be here fault, right? Nope. Another woman pulls out into the intersection, resulting in a significant collision. The older woman must be transported to the hospital via EMS and then airlifted to a regional trauma center. She suffers a collapsed lung and blunt force injuries to the chest, requiring implantation of a pacemaker. She sues the other driver, claiming that she attempted to race through the intersection. The defendants did not attempt to contest liability.  It is a left turn case.  These are pretty easy.  In the end, they settled the case for $100,000.  I’m assuming there is some fact we are not told here.  Maybe $100,000 was the policy limits?   Because this case sounds like it is worth way more than $100,000.

$175,000 Verdict – While pulling into a parking spot at his local bank, an elderly man loses control of his SUV. He crashes into the front of the bank, striking a restaurant manager who was making a deposit. Geez, what were the odds? She is transported to the ER, where she is discharged a few hours later. Her injuries are not severe, but she still has to undergo physical therapy. Months after the accident, she still has lingering hip and leg pain, which turns out to be permanent. As a result, she sues the driver of the vehicle, who initially claimed that the accident was the result of a mechanical failure. However, he admits liability – smartly — and the jury returns an award for $175,000.

$250,000 Settlement – A house guest is staying at a home that had caught fire a few times in the past. A subsequent fire starts while the guest is home, causing him to receive burns over 60% of his body. He passes away at the hospital a few days later. A criminal investigation is opened up, charging the owners of the house with arson and insurance fraud. One of the defendants is found guilty of arson, prompting the guest’s estate to sue them for the wrongful death of the guest. They specifically allege that the owners were negligent by not having smoke detectors throughout the premises. The parties agreed to a $250,000 settlement.

$1,000,000 Settlement – A man presents to the ER with complaints of chest pain and nausea. After two insignificant EKGs, doctors rule out serious cardiac issues and discharge the patient. Shortly after, his roommate finds the man unresponsive, with the autopsy revealing that the cause of death was an aortic dissection. His family decides to sue the hospital, alleging that an abnormality in the second EKG should have tipped off doctors that he was experiencing a cardiac event. Since they did not notice this, they did not explore other possibilities, which may have contributed to his death. Plus, they alleged that an X-Ray actually showed evidence of an aortic dissection and that X-Ray was simply misread by the doctors. Such is the case, there should have been a CT scan to fully evaluate the man. Prior to trial, the parties settled for $1,000,000.