On January 8, 2020, a Cherokee County jury entered a verdict of only $4,546.75 in favor of a plaintiff who sought $37,000 for past medical bills and over $10,000 in lost wages.  Ashley Rice represented the defendant who admitted to striking plaintiff’s vehicle twice in 2016 but contended that neither impact was very hard.  Plaintiff went to the emergency room a few hours after the accident with complaints of neck, left shoulder, and back pain.  A subsequent MRI revealed a left rotator cuff tear.  Plaintiff was recommended for surgery and underwent multiple injections to her spine.  She claimed to have been unable to work for 7 months.  Following a three (3) day trial, the jury’s award represented the amount of plaintiff’s initial emergency room bill.  Before trial, plaintiff demanded $99,000.  Defendant’s highest offer was $11,500.

Anthony Matthews successfully defended his client before a Gwinnett County jury, securing a judgement far below the plaintiffs alleged medical charges. The plaintiff introduced evidence of approximately $9,000 in healthcare charges, and claimed injuries to his neck and back from a low speed rear-end accident.  At trial, the plaintiff asked for an award of $18,000 to $27,000. However, the jury only awarded $2,500.

After deliberating for 25 minutes, a Gwinnett County jury returned a defense verdict for Anthony Matthews’ client. The plaintiff alleged a broken rib, as well as soft tissue back injuries.  Plaintiff was repeatedly impeached with evidence that his rib injury was pre-existing. At trial, the plaintiff asked for $85,000.

During a two day trial in December of 2019, Jonathan M. Adelman convinced a DeKalb County jury to limit its verdict to $20,000, significantly less than the $60,000 pre-trial offer of the insurance company for Mr. Adelman’s client, the defendant.  Liability was not an issue.  In fact, the defendant admitted fault for causing the collision, which knocked the rear bumper off of plaintiff’s vehicle.  Plaintiff sought treatment at the emergency room on the day of the accident and then treated with a spine doctor who administered facet block injections and radiofrequency ablations.  That doctor also recommended future radiofrequency ablation procedures.  In total, the treatment charges exceeded $167,000.  On cross-examination, plaintiff was impeached with her own deposition testimony from the case against the defendant as well as her deposition testimony from a prior case.  The jury was not persuaded by the testimony of the plaintiff’s doctor that the injuries were directly related to the accident with the defendant.  Instead, the jury accepted the testimony of the defendant’s orthopedic expert that the accident with the defendant did not cause any structural changes to the plaintiff’s neck and back.  In closing argument, plaintiff’s counsel suggested to the jury that a verdict should fall between $500,000 and $800,000.

After deliberating for 20 minutes a DeKalb County jury returned a defense verdict for Ben Harbin’s client.  The plaintiff alleged exacerbation of pre-existing injuries after the defendant improperly backed into his vehicle.  Plaintiff refused to acknowledge treating with an orthopedist for similar injuries just days before the accident. At trial, the plaintiff introduced medical bills in excess of $17,000.  The plaintiff asked the jury to award $48,000.

On November 12 and 13, 2019, Taylor Barnett successfully defended a UM case before a DeKalb County Jury involving an admitted liability, front-end impact.  Before trial, the plaintiff received $25,000 from the defendant’s liability carrier.  The plaintiff sought to recover $26,352.75 in medical expenses as well as $30,556.81 in lost wages.  Plaintiff’s orthopedist also testified that he would require future medical treatment at a cost of $40,000-$50,000 per year.  Plaintiff ultimately asked the jury to award in excess of $80,000.  After a short deliberation, the jury returned with a nominal verdict of $942.87.

Ashley Rice successfully defended a UM case before a Fulton County jury, securing a judgment on which plaintiff could not recover from the UM carrier.  Before trial, the plaintiff received $25,000 from the defendant’s liability carrier and sought additional recovery from her underinsured motorist carrier.  The plaintiff introduced evidence of over $45,000 in healthcare charges and claimed injuries to her neck, shoulder, wrist, and back following a low-speed rear-end accident.  On September 27, 2019, a Fulton County jury awarded the plaintiff less than $7,000.  

After deliberating for twenty-five minutes on August 21, 2019, a Carroll County jury returned a defense verdict for Ashley Rice’s client.  The three day trial focused on whether the plaintiff executed a proper U-turn on the University of West Georgia campus in 2012.  The plaintiff insisted that she initiated the U-turn from the travel lane, but Ms. Rice’s client maintained that the plaintiff had moved into an adjacent bus lane before re-entering the travel lane as she made her turn.  Although the investigating officer found Ms. Rice’s client (a college student) to be at fault, two independent witnesses supported his version of events.  At trial, plaintiff introduced over $16,000 in bills for treatment of her alleged injuries.  She had asked the jury to award $75,000.

On August 21, 2019, a Cobb County jury returned with a defense verdict for Jonathan Adelman’s client after only forty-five (45) minutes of deliberations.  Plaintiff claimed over $120,000 in medical expenses and $140,000 in lost wages due to an alleged permanent brain injury and cervical injury.  Plaintiff was thrown from his motorcycle following a series of lane changes by both the defendant car driver and plaintiff.  Plaintiff claimed defendant caused the accident.  Defendant claimed otherwise.  Plaintiff had two (2) medical experts testify via video depositions.  On cross-examination, it became apparent that the experts were in the dark regarding plaintiff’s prior medical history.  Likewise, plaintiff’s eyewitness was impeached with an affidavit which she had previously provided.  Prior to trial, the lowest pre-trial demand was $300,000.  The insurance company’s pre-trial offer was $75,000.

After a two day trial in mid-July, Habersham County Jurors awarded less than half of the alleged medical specials of the plaintiff in a case involving a significant rear-end collision.  Attorney Brian Williams persuaded the jury that a large portion of plaintiff’s post-accident treatment was unnecessary. After 32 minutes of deliberation, the jury rejected the plaintiff’s proposed range of damages of between $45,000 and $79,000.