A FEW OF OUR RECENT SETTLEMENTS AND VERDICTS

Sullivan Brill recently obtained a $4,000,000 award for a 26 year old from New York that was seriously injured in a car accident in Puerto Rico. The client had purchased a used car from a dealership in Canovans, PR. After a couple of weeks, he began hearing and feeling unusual sounds and motions from the front end of the car. He brought it to a service station in Monacillos to have it evaluated. The service station quickly looked at the vehicle, took it for a ride and told the client that there was nothing wrong with it. Twenty minutes after he left the station, one of the car's front end parts that had been worn and deteriorated failed, causing the vehicle to careen off the road into another vehicle. In the ensuring crash, the client sustained a seriously fractured pelvis that required immediate surgery at the Puerto Rico Medical Center. Two years later, after continued pain and problems with his hip, he had to undergo a total hip replacement at age 24. Since a hip implant only lasts 15 to 20 years, the client will likely have to undergo several additional hip replacement surgeries in his lifetime.

Sullivan Brill brought suit against both the dealership and the service station, asserting products liability and negligence claims against the dealership and negligence claims against the service station for failing to conduct a proper inspection of the vehicle and failing to warn the client of the dangers in driving the car in the condition it was in. Half way through the litigation, the dealership withdrew from the litigation and a default was entered against it. A settlement was reached with the service station and a damages trial was conducted before a federal judge in the Federal District Court in Puerto Rico. After hearing the evidence, the judge assessed the client's damages at $4,000,000, including $1,000,000 for medical expenses, $500,000 for lost earnings and lost earning capacity, $1,500,000 for past and future pain and suffering and $1,000,000 for emotional damages.