Piccuta Law Group Obtains $240,000.00 Jury Verdict For Client
On March 23rd, 2017, the Piccuta Law Group obtained a jury verdict for $240,000.00 in the matter of Mark H. Deaner v. Carter Joseph Santini (Case CV2015-001148). The case involved a low impact rear end collision with almost no visible damage to either vehicle. However, the firm’s client eventually required a disc replacement surgery and had over $100,000.00 in medical expenses.
Pictured: Defendant’s car with minimal exterior damage
The defendant had Farmers Insurance and its attorneys defended the case. Farmers Insurance claimed that the impact could not have caused the injury that the client was claiming and which required the surgery. Farmers Insurance claimed that the impact was no more than 5-10 miles per hour. The firm’s client testified that it felt like the impact was 30-35 miles per hour. At trial, Piccuta called three auto body shop witnesses who had prepared repair estimates for the vehicles involved. These witnesses established that there was more damage than what appeared on the outside of the vehicles and suggested that the impact was at a much greater speed than Farmers Insurance was claiming.
Farmers Insurance also claimed that the only injuries the firm’s client could have suffered were soft-tissue injuries. Farmers Insurance asked the jury to only award medical expenses for the emergency room visit and the client’s first month of chiropractic care. This totaled around $10,000.00. Farmers Insurance told the jury not to award the other approximately $93,000.00 that the client had incurred in medical treatment including $75,000.00 that was related to the surgery. In closing argument, the attorney for Farmers Insurance asked the jury to only award $10,000.00 in medical expenses and $1,750.00 in pain and suffering for a total of around $12,000.00.
In Piccuta’s closing argument, he asked the jury to award all of his client’s medical expenses and an amount for pain and suffering. After 4-5 hours of deliberations, the jury rendered its verdict. The verdict was in favor of the client and awarded $240,000.00. The award was 20 times what the attorney for Farmers Insurance had urged the jury to award. Prior to starting trial, Farmers Insurance’s highest offer to settle the case was $25,000.00. The client’s final demand was $249,900.00.
Pictured: Piccuta with client and colleague, Matt Laydon
When Piccuta was asked about the jury verdict, he stated as follows: “This is a great result for our client and shows that a smart jury will not be confused or tricked by an insurance company’s defense tactics and lies. Insurance companies may be able to regularly jerk their members and other injured people around, but that stops when you walk into a courtroom and put a jury in the box. I made a promise to my client and to Farmers Insurance, early in this case, that if fair value was not offered, we’d ‘take it to the [jury] box.’ We did and I am pleased with the result.”
If you or a loved one needs a law firm who is ready to take cases to trial to get fair compensation, contact the Piccuta Law Group today. Our firm is not made up of coward attorneys who are afraid of trial. Our attorneys are ready to take your case to the courtroom and have a jury decide what is fair. Our attorneys are available now for a free consultation.
