Top 10 Florida Herniated Disc Payouts
I have had several clients as an Orlando personal injury and car accident lawyer who have sustained a herniated disc as a consequence of their injuries. During a Florida herniated disc lawsuit, we study other recorded case values if we are attempting to settle a herniated disc before trial, or are planning for a mediation or trial.
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Below, from some of my recent research on herniated disc lawsuits, I have pasted ten examples. You can see my comments after each example. These could help you understand some of the facts that could influence the value of any situation.
Florida Herniated Disc Lawsuit Examples:
1. PAVON v. ESTO-VIR CONSTRUCTION CORP.
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: CONTRACTOR NEGLIGENCE
Specific: Faulty materials
Total Verdict: $92,500
FACTS:
When the scaffold collapsed on the defendant’s construction site, a 25-year-old male plumber sustained a herniated disc at L4-5 and a metacarpal fracture. The plaintiff said that the defendant designed the scaffold negligently. The defendant argued that a subsequent accident triggered the herniated disc. The medical and past wage damages of the plaintiff is compensated by collateral sources.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: The defendant here argued that the injuries of the plaintiff were caused by a subsequent accident. That means that, after the accident that was the foundation of the case, the plaintiff had another accident. Quite often previous incidents pose issues with arguing that the first accident caused all the pain and suffering of the plaintiff, so the defense may include facts relevant to the subsequent accident and the medical attention following that accident.
2. SHYTLE v. PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Lake
City: Clermont
Total: $35,000
FACTS:
At L4-L5, when his car was hit head-on by the police cruiser of the defendant sheriff’s department, a 23-year-old male construction worker suffered a herniated disc. The plaintiff maintained that the driver of the defendant refused to keep to the right of the centerline. The defendant denied guilt and contended that his injuries were exaggerated by the complainant.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: Because the costs in this case were comparatively low, based on the injuries, we can only guess and assume that when he testified to his pain and suffering, and the seriousness of his injuries, the jury did not believe the defendant.
3. HITE v. LIBERTY MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE CO.
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Osceola
City: Kissimmee
General: VEHICULAR LIABILITY
Specific: Underinsured Motorist
Total: $160,000
FACTS:
A 49-year-old company owner sustained a herniated lumbar disc resulting in 5% permanent impairment of the body and a tear of the medial meniscus resulting in 3% permanent impairment of the body when the car was hit broadside by the car of an underinsured motorist. The claimant argued that he kept within the defendant’s insurance firm a policy of uninsured / underinsured motorist coverage. Liability was denied by the defendant. The Tortfeasor settled for $10,000 with the plaintiff.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: Because the jury decided the damages were $160,000, much like the case settled for $10,000 since the insurance policy limit available (which in almost all cases limits damages) was much smaller. During the proceedings, there may have been other claims related to issues.
4. ANDERSON v. NAMCO INTERNATIONAL CORP. D / B / A METALS RECOVERY GROUP
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: BUSINESS NEGLIGENCE
Specific: Bystander
Total: $460,266
FACTS:
When he was hit by the defendant’s vehicle at the defendant’s scrap metal yard, a 64-year-old male scrap metal dealer suffered a herniated disc at L4-L5. The plaintiff maintained that the driver of the defendant handled the truck in a reckless way. The defendant denied guilt and argued that the claimant was reckless in being in a small area.
5. GUERRSI v. CAIOLA
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Winter Park
General: LANE CHANGE
Specific: Defendant Changing
Total: $624,901
FACTS:
A 40-year-old male gutter installer sustained a herniated disc at C6-C7 and depression aggravation, which resulted in an inability to return to work when the male defendant’s car hit his car broadside. The plaintiff charged that his car was run in a reckless way by the defendant. The defendant acknowledged responsibility, but claimed that the herniated disk of the plaintiff was pre-existing.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: Note that one category was missed salaries, past and future under the damages. When your previous employment history is either self-employed (because past income is more difficult to prove and sometimes leads to difficulties with tax return filings being true) or for those without a longer work history, missing salaries are more difficult to recover. Nevertheless, we certainly strive to work around issues to show lost profits wherever practicable.
6. BALLAUF v. GINSBERG
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: PEDESTRIAN
Specific: Crossing roadway
Total: $109,800
FACTS:
When she was hit by the female defendant’s car while crossing the street and while the defendant was leaving a parking lot, a 35-year-old female mortgage broker suffered a herniated lumbar disc and aggravation of preexisting spondylolisthesis, requiring ongoing medical attention and resulting in permanent injury. The defendant argued that when the plaintiff walked out into the path of her car, the accident was inevitable. The defendant challenged the seriousness of the injuries to the plaintiff, arguing that the herniated disk of the plaintiff was not permanent in nature and that her pre-existing condition was not exacerbated. The plaintiff was found 10 percent negligent, and the award was reduced accordingly.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: When the complainant has pre-existing, related medical problems, juries would sometimes grant lower sums. The explanation is that the defendant is only liable for the inconvenience and distress that he or she caused. And the burden of proving the cause is on the complainant. That being said, we are trying hard to find proof that the pre-existing situation in nature was not identical. This case also contained “comparative negligence,” which implies that the jury determined that the plaintiff shares 10% of the blame (most likely, in the jury’s view, without being cautious enough, for wandering into the street). The judge lowers the damage compensation in such cases, so that, in this instance, the defendant only had to pay 90 percent of the amount.
7. VAZQUEZ v. REGENCY MARITIME CORP., ET AL.
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: EMPLOYER NEGLIGENCE
Specific: Shipping employee
Total: $483,800
FACTS:
When he slipped and fell while holding a 75-pound box on a stairway on the defendant’s cruise boat, a 40-year-old seaman suffered a herniated lumbar disc, requiring back surgery. The plaintiff argued that he was forced by the defendant to lift a box heavier than the 29-pound limit, that he could not place one hand on the railing because he needed both hands to lift the box, that the passenger elevator was not allowed to be used, and that the rug on the stairs needed to be fixed. The medical experts of the defendant believed that the plaintiff did not undergo a herniated disc and did not need surgery.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: Clearly, the jury accepted the testimony of the plaintiff about the nature of his pain and suffering and the cause of the accident. There were other things the defendant did wrong, too. A herniated disc with surgery can be a higher value case, depending on the facts, and whether the jury believes the plaintiff, and his experts, or the defendant, and his experts.
8. BUSSEY v. USAA CASUALTY INSURANCE CO., ET AL.
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: VEHICULAR LIABILITY
Specific: Uninsured motorist
Total: $101,166
FACTS:
When his car was hit from the rear by an uninsured motorist’s car, a 35-year-old male ceiling installer sustained herniated disks at C6-7, temporomandibular joint syndrome and cervical myofasciitis. The defendant was the uninsured motorist carrier of the plaintiff.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: This is a great example of what I always tell my clients, your own insurance firm, when you have an uninsured motorist policy, would fight just as hard not to pay. This realistic description did not include medical attention, so it is difficult to further evaluate, but like most rear-end vehicle accidents, rather than who caused the crash, both parties argue about the value of the injury. In a rear-end collision, the rear-driver may usually be kept liable. Then the battle becomes what the worth of the wounds of the plaintiff is. There are never straightforward answers to that question; after hearing all the evidence, which includes testimony from the complainant, and also medical documents and medical expert testimony, the jury will determine whatever they want, then testimony from the experts of the defendant. Those with higher medical costs would usually have higher aggregate case totals, all other variables being equal, and those figures are applied to their estimates by the jury. Medical bills are part of the sum of injury.
9. HAMILTON v. HIRSCH; HOUSE OF HIRSCH ANTIQUES, INC.; FORD MOTOR CREDIT COMPANY
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Seminole
General: INTERSECTION
Specific: Broadside collision
Total: $13,700
FACTS:
When his car collided with the male defendant’s car at an intersection, a 42-year-old male electrician and musician endured a worsening of herniated discs at C5-6, C3-4, and a herniated disc at L4-5, and cervical and lumbar strains. The defendant’s car was rented from the company of the third-named defendant. At the time of the crash, the defendant was trying to cross the lane of the claimant’s journey. The defendant contended that the injuries of the claimant were pre-existing.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: This was a low jury award, so the jury may have accepted the case of the defendant that the injuries of the plaintiff were pre-existing and/or the plaintiff may not have had adequate care to persuade the jury that his injuries were so severe. These details do not tell us what treatment was obtained by the plaintiff.
10. KAAS v. ATLAS CHEMICAL CORP.
STATE: Florida
COUNTY: Orange
City: Orlando
General: TRUCK ACCIDENT
Specific: Rear-end collision
Total: $1,022,000
FACTS:
A 47-year-old self-employed male antique dealer experienced an L5-S1 herniated lumbar disc, a suspected cervical herniated disc, one-knee chondromalacia, traumatically-induced impotence, and some urinary incontinence when the pickup truck in which he was a passenger was hit by the truck of the defendant chemical company from the rear. When the host driver stopped at the entrance ramp to the interstate, the accident occurred. The defendant challenged the impotence of the plaintiff, arguing that medical reports showed that two months prior to the crash, the plaintiff had complained of impotence. A petition was granted for a new trial.
My Orlando Car Accident Lawyer Notes: This was a high verdict given that the medical expenses of the plaintiff were so low. That may be the reason why the defendant lodged an appeal, and a new trial was granted by the judge which means that in this situation, the court dismissed the jury verdict and both parties would have to start again or resolve the situation, most likely settling for a lower amount, but the positive news about the case is that this was a rear-end crash so the defendant was at fault and this was a commercial trucking accident, which means that ample insurance still exists to account for this lawsuit. Also severe were the plaintiff’s injuries. We may not know what medical evidence or care was given by the complainant, which makes it impossible to thoroughly examine this case.
