GMR Partner Jeff Tenthoff won another Philadelphia jury trial on liability, his third in a row this year, in a case involving a pedestrian-motor vehicle accident. On April 14, 2021, the plaintiff claimed to have been walking across City Avenue in the crosswalk when she was struck in the rear by a vehicle, knocking her to the ground. The plaintiff sustained significant injuries, including a Lis Franc fracture involving six fractured bones in her foot, two fractured transverse processes in her lumbar spine, and a fractured humerus, along with significant bruising and abrasions.
The Defendant claimed that while making his left turn onto City Avenue, he heard a noise towards the rear driver-side of his vehicle, causing him to stop and look around; at this point, he saw the plaintiff lying on the ground crying. The Defendant denied seeing the plaintiff before she was on the ground or striking the plaintiff with his vehicle. An independent witness indicated that the plaintiff simply rolled her ankle and fell and that the Defendant’s vehicle never struck the plaintiff.
Despite credibility issues with both his own client and the independent witness, Mr. Tenthoff was able to convince the jury that it was more likely than not that the plaintiff simply fell and mistakenly determined her fall was the result of being struck by a vehicle. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a unanimous defense verdict on liability.
