The destruction of key evidence can kneecap a plaintiff’s case, regardless of any adverse inference instruction a judge may give. In 2017's Fournier v. Derazi trial, however, Mark Avera overcame the destruction of vital evidence to win a seven-figure verdict for a college student injured in a fall from a house deck. 

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Jacksonville, FL—Jurors Tuesday found a North Florida landlord largely responsible for the broken back a college student suffered in a fall from a rental home’s deck, and awarded more than $1.1 million for her injuries.Fournier v. Derazi, 2013CA010759. 

Mark Avera says a deck railing in poor condition led to the fall that fractured Amanda Fournier's spine. 

Jacksonville, FL—A rental home’s rickety deck railing caused the fall that fractured a University of North Florida student’s spine, an attorney for the student said Tuesday as trial opened against the property’s owner.Fournier v. Derazi, 2013CA010759.