Aggravation M.S.

BREVARD COUNTY (1) LARRY XXXXX vs. STATE FARM MUTUAL INSURANCE CO. COUNTY/DOCKET #/JUDGE: Brevard / 05-2001-CA-010460 / William McCluan

PLAINTIFF(S) ATTORNEY(S): David Gorewitz, Melbourne DEFENDANT(S) ATTORNEY(S): Scott Turner of Turner & Laymnan, L.L.C., Melbourne

AGE/SEX/OCCUPATION OF PLAINTIFF: 58 / M / Home Inspector CAUSE OF INJURY: Motor Vehicle Accident/Rear-end Collision. On August 18, 1998, in Palm Bay, Plaintiff's vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle owned and operated by Brevard County.

NATURE OF INJURY: Aggravation of multiple sclerosis (MS); herniated cervical disc; lumbar soft tissue injury. Dr. Weiss stated that this accident either caused or aggravated a latent MS condition and it also caused a herniated disc in Plaintiff's neck. There was a 50% chance that the conditions previously diagnosed as strokes were, in reality, MS attacks. Dr. Sunter opined that the MS relationship to trauma was very controversial and there were people who felt strongly on both sides of the equation. Dr. Hansen opined that Plaintiff's MS may have been aggravated by this accident. Dr. Mancuso stated that Plaintiff did not have a herniated disc in his neck, but merely age-related changes. He also contended that the trauma of the accident was not significant enough to aggravate MS, even if MS could be aggravated by trauma. Dr. Goodin testified that there was no relationship whatsoever between physical trauma and MS and that Plaintiff's prior strokes were incorrectly diagnosed and were in fact MS attacks.

EXPERT WITNESSES:

PLAINTIFF'S:
Gary M. Weiss, M.D., Neurology, Palm Bay
Maurice Hansen, M.D., Neurology,
Naples William Sunter, M.D., Neurology, Palm Bay

DEFENDANT'S:
Anthony Mancuso, M.D., Neuroradiology, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Jeffrey O'Brien, M.D., Orthopedics, Merritt Island
Douglas Goodin, M.D., Neurology, Univ. of California, San Francisco, CA

VERDICT: $212,500 for Plaintiff on December 5, 2002

Defendant offered $101
Plaintiff demanded $7,500

$35,000 - past medical expenses;
$40, 000 - past lost wages;
$87,500 - future medical expenses [over five years];
$50,000 - future lost wages [over five years].

PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY'S COMMENTS: Plaintiff settled with Brevard County for $50,000 prior to trial. The uninsured/underinsured motorist policy was $25,000. Defendant allowed a Civil Remedy Notice of Bad Faith to expire well before trial. Plaintiff's Motion for Attorney's Fees pursuant to Plaintiff's Proposal for Settlement is pending. Defendant offered $101; Plaintiff demanded $7,500. . • • Reported: February 2003

PLAINTIFF'S ATTORNEY'S SUBSEQUENT COMMENTS: Plaintiff was awarded attorney fees from State Farm and the underlying case was appealed by State Farm. After State Farm lost the appeal, the Plaintiff proceeded into federal court with a bad-faith action against State Farm to seek a judgment for the amount of the verdict in excess of policy limits. The federal case settled shortly before trial for an amount far exceeding policy limits. State Farm was held responsible for all attorney fees at both the trial and appellate levels and paid those in addition to the federal court settlement. Therefore, Plaintiff did not have to pay his attorney any money out of his recovery and was more fully compensated for his injuries.