Personal Injury Law

Spangenberg Attorneys Obtain $2,000,000.00 Verdict for Motor Vehicle Collision

By Nick DiCello

On August 27, 2009, a Toledo jury returned a verdict in federal court in favor of the family of Thomas and Therese Lee in the amount of $2,000,000.00 plus funeral expenses. Tom and Tess Lee were killed on August 31, 2007, while traveling on the Ohio Turnpike to attend a family wedding in Cleveland. Tom and Tess were killed when a vehicle traveling in the oppisite direction on the Turnpike crossed the grassy median and struck them nearly head-on. Tom and Tess are survived by their five children.

Prior to trial, the defendant attempted to assert a sudden medical emergency defense. No reliable scientific or medical bases existed, however, to prove that the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed the Lees experienced an unforeseeable and sudden medical emergency rendering him incapable of controlling his vehicle. After extensive investigation and pre-trial discovery, the Spangenberg attorneys petitioned the court to exclude evidence of any alleged sudden medical emergency at trial. After a hearing on the issue, the court granted the motion and excluded any evidence of sudden medical emergency at trial. The matter proceeded to trial only as to the amount of damages incurred by the Lee family as a result of their parents' death.

After a 3-day trial, the jury returned a verdict for $2,000,000.00 plus funeral expenses.

Full post as published by Cleveland Personal Injury Lawyer on October 13, 2009 (boomark / email).