Williams Kastner trial team obtains defense verdict in traumatic brain injury trial

Williams Kastner attorneys Rodney Umberger and Ryan Vollans recently obtained a defense verdict in a jury trial that lasted nearly four weeks. The case was one of admitted liability following a rear-end collision involving a commercial vehicle owned and operated by Williams Kastner’s client, a Fortune 200 company. The plaintiff, who was seeking millions of dollars, alleged that he sustained a life-altering traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the collision, and supported his brain injury claims with four medical experts from differing specialties, including a neurologist (with a focus on alleged pituitary injuries and endocrine issues), another nationally-recognized physician/expert witness who focuses on brain injuries and treatment, a neuroradiologist, and a neuropsychologist (whom Umberger and Vollans were able to get excluded during the trial).

The plaintiff, a successful attorney, alleged that the impact of his brain injury diminished his ability to work, and he supported his economic damages of over $2.7M with a vocational expert/life care planner and an economist. In addition to these experts, Plaintiff also presented numerous fact witnesses (family, friends and colleagues) who testified in support of his alleged brain injury. In closing argument, Plaintiff’s lead trial attorney, who was from the Los Angeles area, asked the jury to award between $10M and $12M for non-economic damages in addition to the $2.7M in economic losses. The defense argued that the collision was not the proximate cause of a traumatic brain injury, and the jury agreed. The jury returned a defense verdict, finding that the defendant’s negligence was not a proximate cause of injury to the plaintiff.