$10.58 Million Verdict for Man Left Unable to Speak or Eat After Miami Intersection Crash

Shortly after 5:30 a.m. on February 25, 2015, David Brown was driving his 2012 Honda CR-V through the intersection of Southwest 88th Street and Southwest 117th Avenue in Miami on his way to the first day of a new job as an electrician's assistant. Marisol Lugardo-Soto's vehicle struck his broadside. The impact spun the CR-V and rolled it.

Brown suffered a traumatic brain injury and a stroke. Medical teams placed him in a medically induced coma and performed a tracheotomy to support his breathing. For the next two years he could not speak, eat, or drink on his own. His co-plaintiff, Tania Jenkins, joined the suit as well.

Brett Rosen, Judd Rosen, and Zachary Bodenheimer of Goldberg & Rosen filed the negligence action on April 17, 2015. At trial before Circuit Judge Peter Lopez, Brett Rosen pointed to a telling physical detail: Lugardo-Soto's driver-side sun visor was in the down position at the time of the crash. Rosen pressed the inference in closing, noting that she had already admitted Brown's vehicle came from Southwest 117th Avenue, directly contradicting any claim she had a clear view of the road.

The defense, represented by Daniel Martinez and Ben Thomas of Martinez Denbo, argued that Brown was confused about his lane position and his destination, and that his own conduct caused the collision. The jury disagreed on liability but found Brown 49 percent comparatively at fault.

On December 6, 2018, the jury returned a gross verdict of $10,577,853.93. After applying the 49 percent comparative-fault reduction, Brown's net recovery came to approximately $5.4 million. The result ranked fifth on the list of Top 50 Car Accident Verdicts in Florida for 2018.