The February 2014 edition of the Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter is out, with details on the following verdicts:
- $2,661,662 bench verdict reduced to $500,000 due to cap- Coahoma County Tort Claims Act negligent police pursuit case (11/7/13);
- $229,400 jury verdict- Gulfport federal court uninsured motorist case (2/5/14);
- $196,978 jury verdict- Hattiesburg federal court breach of insurance contract- defense verdict on bad faith claim (2/14/14);
- $18,000 jury verdict- Oxford federal court racial discrimination case reported here;
- defense verdict- Hinds County medical malpractice trial involving alleged ER doctor negligence (2/7/14);
- defense verdict- Hinds County asbestos FELA case (11/9/13);
- defense verdict- Warren County medical malpractice trial involving alleges anti-coagulant mismanagement (1/21/14); and
- defense verdict- Harrison County slip-and-fall premises liability case (11/8/13).
My Take:
The Coahoma County verdict provides a striking example of how caps work.
Three of the defense verdicts were in areas where it is exceedingly difficult for plaintiffs to win trials: medical malpractice and slip-and-fall.
I bet trying med-mal cases on the defense side is a lot of fun right now. You are guaranteed to make a nice fee in the case and the jury is probably going to buy your arguments. What can be better than that for a trial attorney?