Cleveland lawyer wins $34M judgment for Latino client
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"You never really know what a jury is going to do. It is very difficult to get feel sometimes as to how they are responding to the evidence," said attorney Merrick. "The injuries themselves were very evident as Joshua was in court with one of the doctors who was explaining the injuries."
Merrick and his co-counsel presented expert testimony from a life care planner, an economist, and a vocational expert. The trio testified as to the lifetime of lost earnings, cost of care, and the life expectancy of Rojas following such an injury. Their estimate of economic damages came to
Rojas and Ms, Torres, both of
Rojas and Martínez were best friends who watched movies and were hanging out after Martínez got off work at
The right side of the 1992
Rojas had to have emergency brain surgery which involved the partial removal of his skull, which was later replaced in a subsequent surgery to repair multiple skull fractures. A surgeon testified that Rojas lost a third of his brain. He spent six months in the hospital following the crash.
"Joshua needs 24/7 care for all his daily needs. He has taken physical therapy and is trying to walk a little each day with the help of a walker," explained attorney Merrick. "He has paralysis on the left side of his body so his left leg/foot make it difficult to support his body."
According to court documents, the jury further found that the injuries suffered by
"His last memory of that night was being in the car listening to (the)
Merrick's legal team had to overcome a couple of obstacles during the civil trial. First, Martínez, 24, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of negligent assault and received six months probation. He had been facing a pair of felonies for causing the accident.
"For three weeks he stayed at the hospital with his best friend Joshua, only leaving to change his clothes," recalled Merrick. "At his bond hearing, the judge put a restraining order on Jovanny, stating that he could not see or speak to his best friend Joshua. He was offered a plea deal of a misdemeanor and he accepted it. The insurance company of the truck driver denied the claim."
"The version of
Even accident reconstruction experts hired by each side disagreed about what happened that fateful Sunday morning.
"I think that the story of the driver of our vehicle and backseat passenger, coupled with our accident reconstruction expert was more believable and credible than that of the driver of the truck," said Merrick.
English acknowledged during his testimony that he had a felony record and was going through a contentious divorce at the time of the crash.
Merrick, a bilingual [Spanish/English] attorney, is well-known for helping Latino clients with legal issues, large and small. He specializes in accident claims,
"This will not reverse the events of that night," said Merrick. "However, it will make life a little easier for Joshua and his mother. Joshua calls his mother his 'guardian angel.' She has been taking care of him 24/7 for the past four years."
Lawyers for English and his company filed a 200-plus page motion for a new trial about a month after the jury's verdict. Merrick and his legal team filed a response to that motion last week. Whether another trial occurs will be up to a judge or an appeals court in the coming months.
Counsellor Merrick earned his bachelor's degree from
On the Internet: www.MiOhioAbogado.com
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