Phone: (516) 487-8207
Jury awards Manatee County man $6.5 million Lawyer says driver hurt in 2003 crash 'lost his common sense' By MICHAEL A. SCARCELLA michael. scarcella@heraldtribune.com BRADENTON -- A jury this week said a man who suffered a brain injury because of a vehicle crash four years ago is entitled to $6.5 million in damages, an award that is believed to be among the largest in Manatee County's history. The crash victim, Jesse J. Hall III, a Holmes Beach resident who is now 55, didn't immediately go to a hospital after the crash in May 2003. Three months passed before Hall got medical help. Kevin Britt Woods, a Tampa-based attorney who represented Hall at trial in Bradenton, said the brain injury rendered Hall unable to connect with reality. Hall, the attorney said, didn't know the extent of his injuries. "He was a happy and healthy person before the crash," Woods said Thursday in an interview. The jury deliberated for about six hours Wednesday at the end of the two-week trial before rendering its award for past and future damages that included medical bills and lost earning potential. The bulk of the award was rooted in Hall's future pain and suffering and medical expenses. It was not immediately known Thursday whether the driver who caused the crash, Paige K. Berger, a Manatee County resident, would appeal. The law firm representing Berger and her passenger, Shirley B. Berger, the owner of the vehicle, did not return a call Thursday seeking comment. But Chris Neal, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance, said: "We are very disappointed in the verdict. We're going to consider all of our options now." The crash happened on May 25, 2003, at about 8 p.m. in the 3800 block of 26th Street West in Bradenton. Hall was driving north when Berger, according to the lawsuit, made a left turn in front of Hall's pickup. After the impact, Hall's truck slammed into a concrete culvert, his attorney said. The second impact, Woods said, citing an expert who reconstructed the crash, was the equivalent of a truck being dropped three stories onto a concrete slab. Hall didn't go to the hospital immediately after the crash. Berger's attorneys attacked the three-month gap between the crash and the time Hall sought medical treatment. Four medical experts testified at trial that the brain injury made Hall unable to control emotion and behavior, Woods said. The damage, according to Woods, left Hall unable to make appropriate decisions. "Basically," Woods said, "he lost his common sense." The attorney said a brain scan -- called positron emission tomography, or PET-- captured the damage to Hall's brain. Jurors got a chance to see and inspect PET scan images of Hall's brain. Traumatic brain injuries often go undiagnosed for years, Woods said. That a person can walk and talk and otherwise function normally can mask an underlying injury. Hall also injured his back and has undergone orthopedic surgery, his attorney said. Hall will undergo therapy for the rest of his life and will have his spine fused at some point, Woods said.
Read More About Florida Jury awards Manatee County man $6.5 million...