Florida Woman Wins $1.3 Million Verdict Over Polk County Crash

[Bartow, FL] – A Polk County jury has awarded a Florida plaintiff a $1,310,795.97 verdict against Auto-Owners Insurance, her own insurance company, after they denied her injury claims arising from a 2023 car crash in Haines City, FL. The plaintiff, represented by Morgan & Morgan attorneys Samuel Powers, Dillon Brozyna, and Brock Johnson, declined the defendant’s pre-trial settlement offer of $100,000 before ultimately being awarded the seven-figure verdict.

On March 21, 2023, the plaintiff was driving north on U.S. Highway 27 in Haines City, FL when an underinsured motorist pulled out in front of her from a Winn-Dixie parking lot, causing a T-bone collision with the front passenger side of the plaintiff’s vehicle. The plaintiff sustained severe injuries to her neck and back, pelvis and left shoulder. She underwent extensive treatment for these injuries, including injections, medial branch blocks and radiofrequency ablations for her spinal injuries, and a bursectomy surgery for her shoulder.

“This crash robbed our client of her independence, turning simple household tasks into daily ordeals,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Samuel Powers. “She is a grandmother and primary caregiver for her two grandchildren, who she can no longer care for without significant pain and physical limitations. Despite her having paid for UM insurance specifically for a situation like this, her own insurer decided to spend years litigating and denying her claim. We’re pleased the jury recognized the unfairness of that and delivered justice.”

The 51-year-old plaintiff was forced to file a lawsuit against her insurance company, Auto-Owners Insurance, when they failed to properly evaluate and value the damage suffered by the plaintiff as a result of a negligent driver. The Morgan & Morgan trial team successfully argued that Auto-Owners owed a duty to the plaintiff to settle her uninsured/underinsured motorist claim and failed to do so.

The case was heard by Judge Reinaldo Ojeda in the Circuit Court of the 10th Judicial Circuit in and for Polk County, Florida, Case No. 2023-CA-004013. Auto-Owners Insurance was represented by James Thompson of Thompson Miller.