Zarwin Defense Team Successfully Limits Damages in Admitted Liability Case

Zarwin Baum Director, Ted Schaer, and Shareholder, Ross Di Bono, recently tried a case in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas in front of Judge Michael Erdos. Faced with a non-negotiable demand of $3,500,000. Zarwin’s client is a national bus company. The Plaintiff was injured in a rear-end motor vehicle accident where his vehicle was rear-ended and pushed into the oncoming lane of traffic. This resulted in a severe front-end collision with a large box truck. The impact with the box trucks caused a severe and life-altering crush injury to Plaintiff’s left foot. As a result, Plaintiff filed suit and claimed that his injuries would prevent him from meaningful employment for the rest of his life.

Despite all parties residing in Pike County, PA, over three hours from Philadelphia, Plaintiff filed suit in Philadelphia, hoping to benefit from Philadelphia’s reputation as an overly Plaintiff friendly jurisdiction.

Due to the significant evidence that the defendant driver was at fault, negligence and no comparative fault on the Plaintiff was conceded pre-trial. The case was tried solely on damages.

At the time of this incident, Plaintiff had just started a job selling radio advertising. His experts opined that he was likely to make at least $57,800 per year in that job but would only earn around $33,000 per year as a result of his injuries.

At trial, Ted cross-examined the Plaintiff with numerous social media posts showing that he had ultimately returned to a normal life. Multiple Instagram posts showed the Plaintiff riding his motorcycle, camping, and teaching motorcycle safety. Confident that their cross-examination of Plaintiff’s experts demonstrates the specious nature of Plaintiff’s alleged economic damages, Ted and Ross rested the defense without calling any witnesses.

After deliberating for over 3 hours, the jury agreed and awarded Plaintiff just under $750,000. The award indicated that the jury compensated Plaintiff for his injuries, medical expenses, and past wages but flat out rejected the claim of a longstanding and significant future lost wage claim. The award also indicated that the jury did not believe that Plaintiff was unable to enjoy his life following this incident. Ted’s closing argument also raised questions as to why a Pike County accident was brought to Philadelphia County.