CVN screenshot of defense attorney Tom Winner delivering his closing argument
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury has cleared a tourist transport company of all liability for an RV driver’s spinal injuries following a highway collision in 2017, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The Clark County jury returned their verdict on February 9 following a six-day trial. Plaintiff Todd Hussey sought more than $3.2 million in damages for neck and back injuries that he claimed will require multiple surgeries and left him in chronic pain, however attorneys for defendants Nevada Kanko Services and driver Yoshi Tahira successfully argued Hussey’s symptoms are unrelated to a collision they characterized as "minor."
The defense admitted liability for the accident itself, which occurred when Tahira collided with Hussey’s RV while making a lane change, but they maintained Hussey’s neck pain and surgeries following the accident had nothing to do with the actual crash and were instead the result of naturally occurring chronic conditions like arthritis.
The full trial is available with a monthly or annual subscription to CVN’s online trial video library, which contains hundreds of “real world” civil trials from throughout the United States in a wide range of practice areas.
Attorney Tom Winner of Winner & Booze, who represented the defense, told CVN after the trial that he was gratified by the verdict, which he attributed to the lack of medical support for the plaintiff’s causation claim.
“We acknowledged we were at fault for the accident, and we acknowledged our liability, we just didn’t believe the accident caused the injuries that were claimed, and we presented evidence in support of that,” he said, suggesting that the fact Hussey didn’t immediately seek out treatment for his injuries helped sway the jury.
Winner expressed admiration for his opposing counsel, Christian Morris of Christian Morris Trial Attorneys, complimenting her for taking on a trial with difficult causation hurdles.
“I thought Christian Morris really did an excellent job presenting her case,” Winner said.
After the trial Morris told CVN she plans to appeal the verdict due to issues with defense expert testimony and the exclusion of claims related to negligent hiring and supervision. She acknowledged the delay in seeking treatment presented an issue for the jury, though during trial she attributed it to her client’s tough history as an asphalt worker who was hesitant to seek assistance.
CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Christian Morris delivering her closing argumemnt
She also said the severity of the accident itself, which left little visible damage on either vehicle, further complicated the case.
“The jury ultimately did not believe there was enough impact to cause injury,” she said.
Morris expressed hope that a successful appeal could help get her client the funds to cover additional surgeries he needs and help him return to work.
“Regardless of the challenges in the case, it is always an honor to give someone their day in Court,” Morris said. “We put up the best fight possible; but sometimes that just isn’t enough. Todd is a good human, who was genuinely injured and it changed the course of his life.”
The trial took place before Judge Eric Johnson.
The case is captioned Todd Hussey v. Yoshifumi Tahira, et al., case number A-18-783396-C in Nevada’s 8th District Court.
E-mail David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com