Success Stories

$500,000.00 verdict for wrongful death of 83 year old female, Hernando County, Florida - Estate of Crowe v. Certified Grocers of Florida, Inc.

This case involved an 83 year old widow who was killed when her car was struck by a truck operated by Certified Grocers, Inc.

The trucking company initially offered $3,000.00 to settle the claim contending that Mrs. Crowe had driven her car out into the path of the truck and thus was solely responsible for the accident and her death.

Homicide photographs introduced during the course of the trial depicted the interior of Mrs. Crowe's vehicle as it existed immediately after the accident. An expert witness in the field of accident reconstruction was called to review the homicide photos. The expert testified that the photos revealed that the shifter mechanism in Mrs. Crowe's car was in park at the time that the photographs were taken. Although eye witnesses claimed that Mrs. Crowe's car pulled out in front of the truck, the expert established that this was impossible because Mrs. Crowe was killed instantly in the accident and the shifter mechanism was found to have been in the park position.

The jury disregarded the eye witness testimony and accepted the photographs and testimony of the expert to the effect that Mrs. Crowe's car was in the Park position on the side of the road at the time it was struck by the truck. The conservative rural jury returned a verdict in excess of $500,000.00 to compensate Mrs. Crowe's 2 adult children for the loss of their elderly mother.