Founding member Sheryl Anderson and associate William Healy recently achieved a defense verdict in a three-day jury trial in El Paso County District Court. The case involved a third-party motor vehicle negligence claim. Despite admitting liability for causing the rear-end accident, the defense disputed the accident caused plaintiff’s claimed damages. The low-velocity impact was not recorded on the data recorder in plaintiff’s vehicle, indicating the collision occurred at no more than five miles per hour.
The WAR team won a pre-trial ruling which excluded the majority of plaintiff’s retained expert’s opinion. The expert attempted to tie causation to pre-existing conditions based on a late-disclosed theory of the case. After the pre-trial ruling, plaintiff had a difficult time establishing causation for the claimed injuries. Through diligent motions practice Ms. Anderson and Mr. Healy set the stage for a successful jury trial.
At trial, WAR was able to successfully impeach the credibility of various treatment providers as well as that of the plaintiff. By establishing that plaintiff had engaged in activities after the accident which were inconsistent with the claimed damages, combined with the lack of evidence from plaintiff’s vehicle data recorder, the defense was able to persuade the jury that plaintiff had not sustained the claimed damages.
This is just one example of the Wells Anderson & Race team working diligently to obtain favorable results for our clients, no matter the dollar value of the case. We work hard to achieve cost-effective results for our clients at any stage of litigation.
