MOTOR VEHICLE

BROWARD CIRCUIT COURT

A woman who claimed she was unable to return to full-time work after a traffic collision in Fort Lauderdale received more than a half-million dollars from a jury.

In 2007, Tina Hilts, 48, a legal assistant at a law firm, was driving south on Route 1 when she was rear-ended by a truck at Davie Boulevard. The impact pushed her car into the vehicle in front of it. She suffered herniated spinal discs, partial numbness in her legs and carpal tunnel syndrome in her left wrist, among other injuries. She alleged truck driver Daniel Ray Bermudez was negligent and truck owner Isabel Machin was vicariously liable.

The defense challenged her injuries, arguing the accident only exacerbated existing conditions. The jury awarded Hilts $571,498.

Case: Hilts v. Bermudez

Case No.: CACE11018630

Plaintiffs attorneys: Walter G. Campbell Jr. and Jesse Fulton, Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman, Fort Lauderdale

Defense attorneys: Daniel Ray Bermudez and Isabel C. Machin, pro se