Florida Verdicts

Amount:

$1,060,858.83

Type:

Verdict-Plaintiff

State:

Florida

Venue:

Palm Beach County

Court:

Palm Beach Circuit Court

Injury Type(s):

Case Type:

Motor Vehicle – Left Turn, Sideswipe, Lane Change, Multiple Vehicle

Case Name:

Mia Farland v. Nelson Peltz,
No. 50-2013-CA-014341-XXXX-MB

Date:

March 22, 2018

Plaintiff(s):

Mia Farland (Female, 51 Years)

Plaintiff Attorney(s):

Gary William Roberts;
Gary Roberts & Associates, P.A.;
West Palm Beach,
FL,
for
Mia Farland ■ Joseph Wolsztyniak;
Gary Roberts & Associates, P.A.;
West Palm Beach,
FL,
for
Mia Farland

Plaintiff Expert(s):

Anant Kumar; M.D.; Spinal Surgery; Littleton,
CO called by:
Gary William Roberts, Joseph Wolsztyniak ■ David Campbell; M.D.; Spinal Surgery; Jupiter,
FL called by:
Gary William Roberts, Joseph Wolsztyniak ■ James Cima; D.C.; Chiropractic; Palm Beach Gardens,
FL called by:
Gary William Roberts, Joseph Wolsztyniak ■ Elliot Stern; Ph.D.; Accident Investigation & Reconstruction/ Failure Analysis/Product Liability; Tampa,
FL called by:
Gary William Roberts, Joseph Wolsztyniak ■ Pasquale Montesano; M.D.; Orthopedic Surgery; Palm Beach Gardens,
FL called by:
Gary William Roberts, Joseph Wolsztyniak

Defendant(s):

Nelson Peltz

Defense Attorney(s):

Bruce M. Trybus;
Cooney Trybus Kwavnick Peets;
Fort Lauderdale,
FL,
for
Nelson Peltz

Defendant Expert(s):

Peter Livingston;
Radiology;
Hollywood,
FL called by:
Bruce M. Trybus ■ Joseph Cormier;
Accident Reconstruction;
San Antonio,
TX called by:
Bruce M. Trybus ■ Gaetano Scuderi;
Orthopedic Surgery;
Jupiter,
FL called by:
Bruce M. Trybus

On Dec. 21, 2011, plaintiff Mia Farland, 51, a small-business owner, was driving a compact sport utility vehicle east on Royal Poinciana Way, in West Palm Beach. As she was making a left turn onto northbound Bradley Place, another SUV, which was about twice the size as hers, appeared in the lane to her left and also was turning left. The passenger side of the other SUV struck the driver’s side of Farland‘s SUV, just behind the driver’s seat. Farland claimed injuries to her back and left shoulder. Farland sued the other driver, Nelson Peltz, alleging he was negligent. She maintained that Peltz crossed into her lane, causing the collision. Peltz, a wealthy businessman, had little experience driving, she contended, and pointed out that his SUV was rented. Peltz and a passenger in his vehicle argued that Farland had pulled in front of them during the turn and crossed lanes, causing the impact. The trial was bifurcated. A jury found Peltz was 100 percent liable for the crash in July 2016. The case went to a trial on damages in March 2018.

On the day of the crash, Farland saw her treating chiropractor and subsequently saw two local spinal surgeons. She claimed the accident aggravated her pre-existing scoliosis, and her chiropractor testified that he had noticed a difference in her condition during her first appointment after the crash. The spinal surgeons found that two rods that stabilized and straightened her back had broken in the collision. She also had bruising and soreness of her left, nondominant shoulder, which did not require treatment. The broken rods also caused her to begin to lose normal lordosis, or inward curvature, of her spine, she claimed. Scoliosis creates an S-like curve to the spine. Farland had surgery in Denver in October 2012, to replace the rods in her back, but during the procedure, a portion of the dura mater, a sac of tissue that covers the spine and its nerves, was torn, resulting in a spinal fluid leak before it was fixed. That resulted in her losing an inch of her left leg, she claimed. The surgeon in Denver performed a second procedure in March 2014, because the hardware broke again, which she contended was caused by increased stress, in part from her loss of an inch during the prior procedure. One of Farland‘s treating spinal surgeons, Dr. Pascale Montesano of Palm Beach Gardens, testified that she should have a four-level cervical fusion and possibly lower back surgery, because of the complications that arose when the hardware was broken in the crash. The other treating surgeon, Dr. David Campbell of Jupiter, said she would need a three-level cervical fusion and that the breaking of the rods was causally related to the crash. The surgeon who performed the surgery said in a deposition that he had found the broken rods nine months after the crash but could not opine whether this was causally related to the crash, because she had two incidents when she had fallen down between the crash and the surgery. Farland‘s chiropractor, whom she had been seeing since the late 1990s, said she increased the frequency of her visits as a result of her injuries, with her seeing him 40 times between January and August 2012. The chiropractor said he had never seen Farland more than four times a year before the crash. An accident reconstruction expert for Farland testified that the force of the crash was about a 2.9 g-force in 1/100th of a second, about the same force as a sneeze. Farland has to wear orthotics, because her left leg is shorter than her right and she testified that she has difficulty walking and has had increased pain since the crash. She also has scarring from the surgeries and had to stop operating her own business, a basket delivery service, because she could not perform the work anymore. Farland sought damages for past and future pain and suffering, future medical costs and $1,060,858.83 in past medical costs. Counsel for Peltz contended that the hardware in Farland‘s back was broken before the crash and she was not injured as a result of it. An expert radiologist for the defense, who examined Farland‘s MRIs and medical records, said the rods in her back did not move in the crash. An expert spinal surgeon, who examined Farland and her records, also opined that she had not been injured in the accident. An expert in crash reconstruction for the defense testified that the impact of the collision created about 1 g-force of impact, which was the same force if she had bumped into someone as she was walking.

The jury found that Farland had not suffered a permanent injury in the crash but awarded her $1,060,858.83, all for past medical costs.

Judge:

Joseph Marx

Trial Length:

7
 days

Trial Deliberations:

3.5
 hours

This report is based on information provided by plaintiff’s counsel. Defense counsel did not respond to the reporter’s phone calls.