Morrison Mahoney Partner Jessica Savino successfully defended a motorcycle related suit in a three-day jury trial in the Suffolk Superior Court.
The 35-year-old plaintiff was riding his motorcycle on the Longfellow Bridge in Boston when he was struck from behind by the defendant, who was also riding a motorcycle. Both motorcycles went down, and the plaintiff sustained a left shoulder fracture. The alleged medical bills totaled five figures. Plaintiff also claimed that he remained partially disabled for a year following the accident.
Plaintiff further claimed that he lost his job as a service consultant at a car dealership as a result of his injuries. However, Jessi was able use employment records to demonstrate that the plaintiff was fired from his job due to his poor job performance, including being rude to customers, arriving late for work and sleeping on the job.
Shortly before the collision, the plaintiff and the defendant spent some time together at a bar in Quincy Market. However, the plaintiff denied that he consumed any alcohol while there. To the contrary, the defendant testified that both of them had consumed several alcoholic drinks before they left Quincy Market.
Our client’s auto insurer extended a pretrial settlement offer. However, plaintiff’s counsel would accept nothing less than the defendant’s six figure per person policy limit. In his closing argument, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to render a verdict based upon said policy.
The 16-person jury deliberated for about 90 minutes, which included a break for lunch. The jury determined that the value of the injuries sustained by the plaintiff amounted to a four-figure number, which was further reduced by half due to the plaintiff’s comparative negligence.
