RRD Secures Defense Verdict Following $1.4 Million Demand at Trial

(MERIDEN, CT) - On Friday, July 9, 2010, a jury returned a defense verdict in favor of a Ryan Ryan Deluca LLP client involved in a serious car accident in Hamden in 2006. The facts of the case were in dispute as the plaintiff-driver and defendant provided different versions of how the accident occurred.

RRD’s client was the driver in the head-on collision which occurred at the intersection of Whitney Avenue and River Road. The plaintiff-driver claimed that the defendant made a left turn in front of his vehicle and caused the accident. The plaintiff-driver suffered a fractured right hip and a fractured left arm as a result of the collision. Due to the severity of the fractures, the plaintiff-driver underwent surgeries to repair both fractures at the Hospital of St. Raphael. He remained at the hospital for one month following the accident.

Following his initial treatment at the hospital, the plaintiff-driver suffered from a blood clot in his right leg. He returned for a second time to the Hospital of St. Raphael for five days. Following his medical treatment, the plaintiff was assigned a 5% permanent partial impairment to his left arm, a 10% permanent partial impairment to his right hip and a 60% functional limitation to his right lower extremity. The plaintiff claimed continued pain more than three years following the accident.

The plaintiff's wife filed a loss of consortium claim as well.

At trial, the plaintiff-driver testified that he lost wages totaling $51,000.00 between August 2006 and July 2010. He also asserted that this loss of income would continue in the future until he retired. During closing argument, the plaintiffs' counsel totaled the plaintiffs' past and future economic damages to be $407,352.00 and asked the jury to award $1,407,352.00.

The defendant contested the facts of the case and asserted that the plaintiff-driver was, in fact, responsible for the accident. The defendant stated that the plaintiff-driver had crossed over to the other side of the road and was traveling the wrong way just prior to the accident. The defendant testified that the actions of plaintiff-driver caused him to swerve left at the intersection of Whitney Avenue and River Road to avoid the collision. The defendant also presented evidence that the plaintiff-driver had consumed alcohol earlier that evening and was operating his motor vehicle above the legal limit. In addition, the defendant also challenged the severity of the plaintiffs’ claimed injuries and damages.

The jury returned a verdict in favor of the defendant-driver and found the plaintiff-driver to be at fault for the accident. A defense verdict was entered against both plaintiffs.