CASE HIGHLIGHT: Recent FFP trial results in verdict 13 times the insurance company’s offer
On July 15, 2022, in Volusia County, the 6-person jury found the Defendant 100% at fault for the crash and awarded $365,000.00 in damages to our client for the crash which occurred on December 4, 2017. Mr. Jeremy Pollard was represented by the daughter/mother team of Julie Aleve Fine and Cherie H. Fine of Fine, Farkash & Parlapiano. The crash occurred on December 4, 2017, in Volusia County, when our client was driving home to Gainesville from visiting some family in Deland.
Above: Drone image of the crash scene taken by FFP Law’s expert biomechanical engineer.
Below: A still image from the accident reconstruction animation used at trial.
THE CRASH
Our client was heading west on highway 40, at 45 mph as he approached the Astor Bridge. As he approached the Astor Bridge he saw the Defendant’s vehicle, a GMC 3500, to his right approaching a stop sign. He saw the GMC slowly rolling and then accelerate at full speed. He applied full brake and turned the wheel left, but there was not enough time.
Above: Mr. Pollard’s Honda Civic at the crash scene with airbags deployed and significant damage.
Below: Defendant’s GMC 3500 continued through the intersection and into the Astor Bridge Marina sign pole.
After weeks of pain Mr. Pollard realized he wasn’t getting better and found himself needing an experienced legal team. The Defendant and his insurance company contested Mr. Pollard’s claim at every turn, arguing that he was at fault and that he wasn’t really injured.
BLACK BOX DATA PROVED DEFENDANT’S NEGLIGENCE
One of the critical aspects of the case was the CDR, or Crash Data Retrieval, (commonly referred to as the “Black Box”) that was performed on the Defendant’s GMC 3500 Heavy Duty Pickup Truck. FFP Law hired an engineer in Pennsylvania to track down the truck and perform the download. What the data revealed was corroborating evidence for our client’s case. It proved that what he told the police that day, and the insurance company, and the defense lawyers was true. The CDR showed that 1.5 second before the collision the Defendant accelerated full throttle, giving our client practically no time to avoid the crash.
Above: A CDR (Crash Data Retrieval) of the Defendant’s Heavy Duty GMC 3500 showed he accelerated full throttle out in front of our client’s Honda Civic on December 4, 2017.
PRESENTING THE CASE
FFP’s Litigation Experience Defeats Insurance Company
The case proceeded to trial and the FFP legal team not only presented the opinions of the physicians who had cared for Mr. Pollard’s injuries, but hired experts to testify including a biomechanical engineer, Dr. Jeremy Cummings, and a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Life Care Planner, Dr. Christopher Leber.
However, the Defendants continued to fight against Mr. Pollard’s case, spending close to $100,000 on their expert witnesses alone, to testify that Mr. Pollard could not have been injured in the crash. However, in the end, the jury was persuaded by the FFP legal team’s case and believed in Mr. Pollard, finding the Defendants 100% at fault and awarding past and future medical expenses as well as pain and suffering for a total of $365,000.00.
Representing clients like Mr. Pollard is an honor. He is a fantastic client. He is kind, hardworking, he is a wonderful husband, and father. His life was dramatically changed by the December 4, 2017 crash, and he relied on our team to obtain justice for him and his family. Thank you, Jeremy.
Mr. Fine was born in New York, New York, and was raised in the northeast, where he studied sociology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. He then graduated with honors from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 1976. In law school, he was a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, was inducted into the Order of the Coif, and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. Mr. Fine was admitted into the Florida Bar in 1976, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida in 1977, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida in 1991, and the United States Court of Appeals 11th Circuit in 1982.