Mississippi’s first jury trial to since Covid-19 took place in Hancock County in late August (jury verdict form linked below). The case was tried before Judge Lisa Dodson and was styled Brandner v. Golconda Holdings, LLC et al., Cause No. A2301-17-0435.
The case involved a moderate rear-end crash and plaintiff alleged injuries that included a thoracic compression fracture as well as lumbar and disc injuries. The tortfeasor had minimal insurance coverage ($25,000). Therefore, the focus of the trial was on the two UIM carriers, State Farm and PURE, who both had significant limits. The main dispute at trial centered around damages and the defendants argued that the plaintiff had recovered from the thoracic injury and the ongoing treatment was unnecessary. Their defense included testimony from a Mississippi resident neurosurgeon, Dr. John Davis, who performed an IME on the plaintiff.
The jury found for the plaintiff and awarded medicals of $300,000 and $492,909 in future care. The jury also awarded non-economic damages of $500,000 for plaintiff's pain and suffering, placing the verdict total at $1,292,909. The attorneys for the parties were all local counsel who practice in and around Hancock County, Mississippi. It is noteworthy that the Court decided to follow the Heflin opinion which removes the uninsured/underinsured motorist carrier’s name from the pleadings but allows its counsel to participate at trial. See Heflin v. Merrill, 154 So.3d 857 (Miss. 2014) (also linked below). Heflin was successfully defended at trial and appellate court by Jeremy Hawk in our Mississippi office.