Nuclear verdicts may be on the rise around the country, but there remain signs of reasonableness, particularly in federal court jury pools. In November 2022, a jury in Detroit, Michigan entered a complete defense verdict in a motor vehicle accident personal injury case brought by a high-profile plaintiff’s firm, with the Scopelitis Accident Litigation Team on the defense.

Despite no injuries being reported at the accident scene, the Plaintiff asked the jury to award $3,000,000.00 for lost wages and pain and suffering against the Ohio-based motor carrier and its truck driver. After a full week of trial including testimony from many medical expert witnesses, the jury returned a verdict for the Defense and therefore awarded no damages. With jurors drawn from several counties in the Detroit metropolitan area, the decision came down to credibility of the Plaintiff, particularly due to the lack of objective signs of injury and the inflated demand.

The case highlighted advantages inherent in removing cases to federal court when possible, as well as the importance of finding credible expert witnesses to deliver objective evidence to the jury. Scopelitis Partner, Andy Marquis noted, “the jurors really seemed to understand the degenerative/acute issues from a medical standpoint, and, more broadly, they did not subscribe to inflated damages in connection with an objectively minor motor vehicle accident.”