MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE. Auto/Truck Collision. $______ VERDICT

• Pages: 18-18

DEFENDANT’S VERDICT

Insurance obligation – Alleged breach of

homeowners’ policy – Claimed damage caused by

Tropical Storm Gordon.

Miami-Dade County, FL

In this action, the plaintiffs alleged that the

defendant insurance company breached their

homeowners’ policy by failing to pay for damage

to their Miami, Florida, home caused by Tropical

Storm Gordon. The defendant argued that the

damage in question was caused by wear, tear

and deterioration and was not covered under the

policy issued to the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs alleged that their home sustained extensive

damage on September 3, 2018, when Tropical Storm

Gordon caused an opening in the roof which allowed

rain to enter the property. The plaintiffs’ construction ex-

pert opined that the house exhibited classic windstorm

damages in specific critical areas of the roofing system,

specifically consistent with uplift damage from in-

creased wind force. The defendant maintained that the

plaintiff’s roof was worn and deteriorated and that there

was no evidence of a wind-created opening.

The court instructed the jury that the plaintiffs had the

burden to prove, by the greater weight of the evidence,

that their roof incurred a physical loss to property from

wind due to Tropical Storm Gordon.

The jury found that the plaintiff did not prove that the de-

fendant breached the insurance contract. Accordingly,

a judgment for the defendant was entered. The defen-

dant waived enforcement of the proposals for settle-

ment. The plaintiffs waived post-trial motions or appeal.

REFERENCE

Aleman, et al vs. Citizens Property Insurance Corpora-

tion. Case no. 2020-006863-CA-01; Judge Barbara

Areces, 10-15-21.

Attorneys for defendant: Robert W. Hudson and

Jennifer Santos Roldan of Hudson & Calleja, LLC in

Miami, FL.

MOTOR VEHICLE NEGLIGENCE

Auto/Truck Collision

$180,033 VERDICT

Motor vehicle negligence – Auto/truck collision –

U-turn collision – Defendant, driving semi-truck

makes U-turn in front plaintiff’s vehicle, colliding

with plaintiff’s vehicle – DVT due to traumatic

injury to left knee – Lifelong blood thinners and

risk of clotting.

Alachua County, FL

In this motor vehicle negligence case, the plaintiff,

a 53-year-old insulation business owner/installer,

asserted that the defendant driver struck his

vehicle with such force that it caused significant,

permanent injury. The defendants stipulated

liability, but contested the plaintiff’s damages.

On July 24, 2019, the plaintiff was traveling on US High-

way 441 in High Springs in the inside lane of travel. The

defendant driver was operating a semi-truck owned by

the co-defendant in the course of his employment, trav-

eling in the outside lane of US Highway 441 ahead of

the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff contended that the

defendant negligently made an illegal wide U-turn in

front of the plaintiff’s vehicle and struck the vehicle. The

plaintiff alleged that the force of the impact resulted in

permanent injuries.

As a result of the collision, the plaintiff sustained left knee

injury. The plaintiff asserted that he developed deep

vein thrombosis in the left leg as a result of the left knee

injury and has had to take blood-thinning medication

ever since. The plaintiff treated with orthopedic treat-

ment, hematology and podiatric treatment.

The plaintiff presented expert medical testimony that es-

tablished his DVT was provoked by trauma from the sub-

ject accident. The defendants argued that the plaintiff

was not injured or that his injuries were not permanent in

nature. The defendants asserted that the plaintiff suf-

fered from osteoarthritis unrelated to the subject

collision.

The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and against the de-

fendant and awarded damages in the amount of

$180,033 broken down as follows: $10,033 in past medi-

cal expenses; $20,000 in future medical expenses;

$50,000 in past non-economic damages; $100,000 in

future non-economic damages. The court awarded the

plaintiff his taxable costs of $13,753 as the prevailing

party, pursuant to section 57.041 of the Florida Statutes,

for a total recovery of $193,786.

REFERENCE

Patterson vs. Stroup, et al. Case no. 01 2020 CA 001788;

Judge George M. Wright, 12-08-21.

Attorney for plaintiff: Michael Donsky of Dan Newlin

Injury Attorneys in Orlando, FL. Attorney for

defendant: Steven E. Kranz of Adams Coogler, P.A. in

West Palm Beach, FL.

Volume 32, Issue 2, February 2022

VERDICTS BY CATEGORY 18

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