Jury Duty is over
Thursday, August 21, 2008I am thankful to have had a part in jury duty, though it was a little sad that the process took place. An auto accident, resulting in a shoulder operation for the person not responsible for the accident. The case was about compensation for pain and suffering, but that wasn’t talked about until closing statements. Also, the defendant was being sued, but again, didn’t learn about the company he was working for as being liable until the last, either. The medical bills was around $24,000, but the defendant wanted another $69,000 pain / suffering compensation. We, the jury, ended up giving her $5k instead (plus the medical bills.)
Insurance wasn’t mentioned. Apparently they can’t talk about that. (Because, this is why we have insurance.) I felt very limited in my decision making because there was a lot of information that was left out. I didn’t have a police report, or approximate speeds (except for 114’ long skid mark), driving histories for either, etc. Looking back, I think they didn’t think that was important if all we were ‘talking’ about was the pain and suffering. But, it all comes in to play.
So, like I said, it was a good experience. I am thankful I was in the jury and not on the floor, that’s for sure.
