Virginia Lawyers Weekly VA Lawyers Weekly
Three clients were involved in a rear-end collision by a dump truck with a single liability limit of $1 million.
Injuries were as follows – two herniated discs L4/L5 and L5/S1. The surgery was a laminectomy foraminotomy and discectomy. No ER Visit. Chiro – 20 visits. Ortho – three visits. Two physical therapy sessions, two pain management doctors (two different round of injections), and then the surgery and a few follow ups. Accident was Oct. 2015. Total meds were $134k. Wages were at $30k.
Plaintiff was sent to an IME and the defense cancelled it when he got there because the person he brought they thought was outside the scope of the Rule 410 order. They then filed a Rule 410 motion, which got denied. A motion in limine prohibiting the report or their expert was then filed – which was granted.
At trial only two family members of the plaintiff could testify, not his fiancé or any friends. Use of the disability rating or lost earning capacity as a result of the rating was not allowed. However, a future wage instruction was used at trial because his employer (also his brother) testified that he has not and could no longer do construction work and is basically an inexperienced foreman, for which he can no longer afford and will terminate at the end of the year. That testimony was presented to the jury and said for them just to use his last two years ($15k apiece) of wage loss as a basis for the future despite he will not be employed.
Total demand was $1.9 million to the jury.
While they had no witnesses, the defense basically said they didn’t believe anything the plaintiff said, he didn’t bring enough witnesses to court, and then said the bills were too high, and he didn’t get the MRI promptly, and waited too long to have surgery. Over plaintiff’s counsel’s objections, the defense got a duty to mitigate instruction.
Defendant was driving a company vehicle owned by his boss. Both were sued, and verdict is against both.
[18-T-163]Type of action: Personal Injury – Auto Accident
Injuries alleged: L4/L5 & L5/S1 Disc Herniations with Surgery
Name of case: Olegario Felipe Valles v. Alberto Librato, et al
Court: Prince William Circuit Court
Case no.: CL-175533
Tried before: Jury
Name of judge: Judge James A. Willett
Date resolved: Dec. 6, 2018
Special damages: $134,000 Submitted Medicals, $30,000.00 Wages, Future Medicals, Future Wages
Demand: $400,000
Offer: $350,000
Verdict or settlement: Verdict
Amount: $619,000.00
Attorneys for plaintiff: Boris Kuperman and Mark Gore, Fairfax
Attorney for defendant: Nancy Goodiel, Fairfax
