Madison County Partners Adam Johnson and Zach Shelton and Associate Drew Dossett recently secured a defense verdict following a jury trial in Logan County, Illinois. The matter arose from a motor vehicle accident causing significant personal injuries. The defendant admitted fault for causing the accident and the case proceeded to trial on damages alone.
At trial, the plaintiff called three medical experts to testify on behalf of the plaintiff. The plaintiff's experts testified that the plaintiff sustained injuries across multiple levels of her neck and back, which, according to the plaintiff's experts, were confirmed by radiological evidence and physical examinations. The plaintiff argued that the accident had also aggravated pre-existing scoliosis and arthritis. The plaintiff's primary care physician testified that the plaintiff sustained neck and back injuries in the accident, which required months of physical therapy. According to the plaintiff's pain management doctor, the plaintiff would continue to have ongoing aggravations of those conditions for the rest of her life, including significant pain and susceptibility to future injury.
The defense focused on the plaintiff's pre-existing conditions and inconsistencies in her version of the accident and treatment. The defense presented biomechanical evidence that called into question the significance of the accident itself, and used that evidence to challenge plaintiff's credibility. The defense also impeached the plaintiff's primary damages expert with evidence of bias including financial interest and past retained expert testimony. During closing argument, the defense argued that the plaintiff had overstated her injuries and misled her own doctors, which in turn called into question the subjective portions of her alleged damages.
The jury returned a defense verdict after deliberating for sixteen minutes.