May 14, 2025. Partner Paul Groth won a full defense verdict in Gwinnett County this week. The accident giving rise to this lawsuit occurred after the defendant attempted to turn left but, in so doing, pulled in front of the plaintiff who was coming from her left. The plaintiff testified that she was heading straight on Hwy 20, going 20-25 mph when Defendant turned left in front of her. The plaintiff stated she slammed on her brakes and steered to the right but could not avoid hitting the driver’s side rear wheel and fender of the defendant’s car. The Defendant admitted negligence at trial.
At trial, the plaintiff’s presented nearly 5000 pages of medical records and a narrative from one of her medical providers. She claimed multiple low back injuries and treatment included Epidural Steroid Injections, Percutaneous Discectomy and Spinal Cord Stimulator implantation. Mr. Groth called Dr. Joseph Martino, MD as an expert witness who disputed causation and challenged the treatment rendered to the Plaintiff. Further Dr. Martino disputed that the Plaintiff’s issues were coming from her low back and that her problems were casually related to her Diabetes.
During her closing argument, the plaintiff’s attorney argued for $572,000 in medical expenses, and argued all of the expenses were due to her low back injury from the accident. She also requested a commensurate amount for pain and suffering but did not specify a number. Mr. Groth suggested the award should be a defense verdict due to the plaintiff having Diabetic Neuropathy and because the plaintiff had failed to prove any herniations and only had a disc bulge.
The jury deliberated approximately 5 1/2 hours before returning a defense verdict.
The Case is Sharon Puckett v. Obigail Osteen and Hans Buchheim, State Court of Gwinnett County CAFN 23-C-05391-S2.
Read more about Partner Paul Groth here.
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