$536,700 was awarded for the pain and suffering component of the claim. A woman who claimed 2 herniated discs were caused by a Duval County car accident.
Below, you can get a better understanding of the settlement value for a herniated disc in a Florida car accident.
As mentioned above, $536,700 was awarded in a verdict for pain and suffering alone for a female nurse who claimed 2 herniations in her lower back (L4-L5 and L5-S1) from a motor vehicle accident in Duval County, Florida.
The accident happened at an intersection. The other driver admitted that he was at fault, but he argued that the Plaintiff’s injuries were not permanent. He also argued against the amount of damages (I presume medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering) that she claimed. I do not know how old the woman was.
The total verdict was for $1,178,322. Future medical expenses awarded were $500,578. The verdict was in November 2012. The case name is Botchey v. Rombola.
My thoughts: Because the injured woman was a nurse, I assume that she was over the age of 18. The jury believed that the Plaintiff would need a huge amount of medical treatment in the future and awarded almost the same amount of future pain and suffering as future medical bills.
Duval county is a liberal county and jury verdicts tend to be higher than in other conservative counties in Florida. This is a very high verdict for pain and suffering for 2 herniations without surgery and without a recommendation for surgery. In car accident cases, juries often find that a herniation is not a permanent injury.
In most car accident cases in Florida, if a jury finds that an injury is not permanent then the victim cannot get any money for pain and suffering.
In some car accident cases and many other types of cases in Florida, you may be able to get money for pain and suffering even if the doctor hired by the insurance company says that your herniated is not a permanent injury.
This verdict shows that it is possible to get a huge verdict in a herniated disc case even without surgery. This is a great verdict to send to a claims adjuster when he or she is arguing that your herniated disc is not a permanent injury or offering you a little bit of money because you have a herniation but do not need surgery.
I do not know how much bodily injury (BI) Liability insurance the at-fault driver had. A car owner does not have to carry BI insurance is in Florida. Even if the at-fault driver or owner of the vehicle did not have enough BI insurance, the woman may have a bad faith case against the BI auto insurer.
The woman may get a settlement or verdict for damages above the at-fault party’s BI insurance limits.
Check out some of the many Florida injury cases that we have settled, including but not limited to car accidents, slip and falls, and cruise ships accidents. We want to represent you if you were injured in an accident in Florida, on a cruise ship or boat.
If you live in Florida but were injured in another state we may also be able to represent you.
Call us now at (888) 594-3577 to Get a Free Consultation. There are No Fees or Costs Unless We Recover Money. Call us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. We speak Spanish. We invite you to learn more about us.