Broward County

(1) DWIGHT GRANT vs. MATTHEW LYONS (Circuit Court of Broward County, Florida)

 

County/Docket #/Judge: Broward / CACE 0715561 / Mily Rodriguez Powell

 

Plaintiff(s) Attorney(s): Thomas Scolaro and Carol Finkelhoffe of Leesfield & Partners, Miami, FL

 

Defendant(s) Attorney(s): Richard Giordino and Wayne Hrivnak of David & Giordino, P.A., West Palm Beach, FL

 

Age/Sex/Occupation Of Plaintiff: 26 / M / Self-employed handyman

 

Cause Of Injury: Negligence/Motor Vehicles/Rear-End DUI Collision. Plaintiff Dwight Grant claimed that on May 19, 2007, at approximately 10:30 p.m., defendant Matthew Lyons collided with the rear-end of a vehicle stopped at a draw bridge. Plaintiff was riding as a back-seat passenger in the vehicle that was rear-ended. Defendant was allegedly intoxicated at the time of the collision and had a BAC of 0.21.  

 

Nature Of Injury: Fractured skull; closed head injury with facial fractures; frontal lobe damage which manifested with mild to moderate cognitive impairments, difficulty with concentration and attention, and resulting seizure disorder. Mr. Grant underwent ORIF to repair facial fractures; current seizures every few months despite being on seizure control medication.

 

Expert Witnesses:

Plaintiff's: 

Sally Kolitz Russell, Ph.D., Neuropsychology, Miami, FL

Victor Barredo, M.D., Neurology, South Miami, FL

Leslie Delman, Vocational Rehabilitation, Sunrise, FL

Kenneth Rothstein, M.D., Hepatology, Philadelphia, PA

 

Defendant's: 

Hyman Eisenstein, Ph.D., Neuropsychology, Miami Beach, FL

Mark Goldstein, M.D., Neurology, Lake Worth, FL

David Everett, Vocational Rehabilitation, Lake Worth, FL

Timothy Woodward, M.D., Hepatology, Jacksonville, FL

 

Verdict: $15,416,967 on May 10, 2011 ($57,109 – past wage loss; $2,714,872 – loss of earning capacity; $99,247 – past medical expenses; $6,535,739 – future medical expenses relating to brain injury and seizures;  $10,000 - future medical expenses relating to the aggravation of preexisting liver disease; $2,000,000 - past non-economic damages; $4,000,000 - future non-economic damages).

 

Editor's Note: The jury attributed 2% negligence to plaintiff for failure to mitigate his damages.

 

Plaintiff's Attorney's Comments: Defendant’s insurance carrier, Farmer's Insurance Company, stipulated to a consent judgment during deliberations of $5,000,000, waiving any right to appeal and allowing the parties to litigate the insurance bad faith case stemming from defendant's initial rejection of plaintiff's offer to settle this case at the outset for the $100,000 policy limits.