Powers Law Group represented a personal injury client in a jury trial this month in Forsyth County. The insurance company denied responsibility for our client’s injuries.  The jury was very conservative. Forsyth County residents are known for being some of the most conservative in the state of Georgia. The law requires that the case be filed the where the defendant lives, not where the accident ocurred. We faced many other challenges during the course of the trial such as these:

• Lack of visible property damage to both cars
• No complaint of injury at the scene from anyone in either vehicle in accident
• The police officer recorded that there was no damage to our client’s vehicle
• Our client delayed seeking any medical care for her injury

Our client continued to work as a hairdresser, not losing time from work. The defense hired a non-practicing neurosurgeon as an expert to testify on their behalf. This expert for the defense testified that the need for our client’s neck surgery was caused by looking up while decorating her Christmas tree seven months after the wreck.  Our client’s surgery was 14 months post accident. She returned to work within 6 weeks. The offer to settle before trial was $25,000, and the verdict in favor of our client was for $40,000. While we were pleased with the win for our client, we were also disappointed by the amount the jury awarded to our client, whose medical bills were significantly more than the jury’s award.