The Plaintiff’s Attorney thought this case was a routine and straight forward car accident case. The Defense thought the opposite and showed it every step of the way during trial. The case was Omotola v. Avradopoulos, No. 12EV016314.
The case began on a drizzly and cloudy day in February, 2011 when Plaintiff Alahandro Omotola, age 40, was driving in Atlanta, Georgia when Defendant Constantine Avradopoulos was driving the same way in the center lane when he crossed into the Plaintiff’s lane and struck the Plaintiff, running him off the road and over a fire hydrant until the car rested in some trees. Both parties were injured and ultimately sought treatment at the Atlanta Medical Center where the Defendant complained of leg and back pain. He was later charged with improper lane change and he pled no contest to the charges and, therefore, the charges could not be admitted in court.
The Plaintiff, on the other hand, had injuries to his lower back and shoulder and, although he was released from the ER, he returned to the ER with complaints of shooting pain to and from his leg to his back. As a result, several examinations were performed that revealed that the Plaintiff had a herniated disk along with injuries to both of his shoulders. The Plaintiff, despite five shoulder surgeries, at the time of trial was still having pain and had a limited range of motion. The Plaintiff had been treated for the back issues as well and surgery was not recommended for his back, but a spinal fusion was recommended, however.
Since the Defense had no intention of settling the case, the Plaintiff and his wife, Melissa, filed suit in the Fulton County State Court of Georgia naming Avradopoulous as a Defendant. Prior to trial the parties mediated the case with an experienced mediator and former Superior Court Judge, yet the mediation went no where. The parties, prior to trial, also went back and forth several times with offers and counteroffers, and were still unable to settle the case.
To illustrate how this was not your usual car accident trial, the trial began despite the following:
1.) Neither party was able to find the investigating officer as he vanished after he left his post at the APD. Long story short, the police report would not have been admissible anyways for other reasons per the Judge’s rulings.
2.) Neither side called any experts at trial, and the only witnesses were the Plaintiff, his wife, a neighbor, and treating physicians.
3.) While on the stand, the Defendant stated under oath that he did not have any evidence that the Plaintiff did any wrongdoing, and that he further was not blaming the Plaintiff for anything or disputing any words that the Plaintiff said.
The two day trail ended with approximately two (2) hours of deliberation and a Jury Verdict in favor of the Plaintiff A. Omotola in the amount of $ 3,302,260, and $ 75,000.00 for the Plaintiff’s Wife for Loss of Consortium.
The take away from this case is that if the Defense had just admitted liability and asked the jury to be fair, but not to award too much in damages, that in a case like this that probably would have happened. Instead, the Defense fought on every little issue and it came back to bite them as a result.
What is even more interesting in this case is that the Plaintiff, who was the sole attorney at the Plaintiff’s table, had Solo Practitioner Atlanta Attorney Auer Jordan help him choose the jury with the help of her invention which is an iPad application named “Jury Strike” that Jordan created last year, and that is now available in the iTunes store. Plaintiff’s Attorney Williams stated, “That technology was invaluable for helping us strike a jury.” As we know, the trier of fact is one of, if not the, most important part of the trial so with the help of some technology this may take the mystery out of the elusive “jury selection process.”
At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates we have tried hundreds of cases and help thousands of people achieve a winning results in Automobile Accidents so we invite you to Contact Us for your free legal consultation if you or a loved one has been involved in any type of accident.
We do believe in using all of the technology that is at our disposal, but nothing beats legal experience and the intimate understanding of human nature that is paramount to successful representation. We will use all the tools available to get you the winning result that you deserve. We hope to hear from you soon!