In a 100-case sample taken from jury verdict research across the State of Florida (Fig. 1), statistical analyses showed that herniated disc cases resulting in an uninsured/underinsured (UM) trial grossed an average case value of $153,398.78. Nevertheless, this sample showed a large range of case values from $0 all the way up to almost $2 million dollars.
Figure 1. The breakdown of the geographic regions in the sample.
Deviating from the general trend of case values in this sample set, the data showed twelve high-value outliers over $299,500 to note: $299,501, $320,220, $370,000, $461,227, $493,000, $652,375, $765,000, $985,345, $1,000,313, $1,089,111, $1.578 million, and $1,984,199. High-value outliers are important to analyze given their capacity to skew data, particularly the averages of data, to be unrepresentatively high. However, the often represent cases with extenuating circumstances causing a higher-than-normal case value to be given to a plaintiff. When we remove the outliers along with defense verdicts ($0), we find an average case value of $70,022.35. This average is more representative of the average case value you’d most likely find in a given uninsured/underinsured motorist herniated disc case in the State of Florida. It is important to note, though, that all cases are different and this is just an estimate based on quantitative data from our sample.
The graph above shown in Figure 1 breaks down the geographic regions that we have divided data into for closer analyses. The Orlando region, shaded in blue, is made up of cases coming from Seminole, Orange, and Osceola counties. The Tallahassee region, shaded in black, shows the number of cases from Leon County; the Rest-of-State region, shaded in gray, is made up of the cases from all the other counties in Florida in our sample that are not already included in the Orlando or Tallahassee regions.
Of the 21 cases in the Orlando area, we found a sample average case value of $185,901.90 when including defense verdicts and outliers. Excluding these values, we found a sample average of $51,624.40. The two cases in the Tallahassee region did not include any defense verdicts or outliers, making their sample average $34,260 completely. I feel obligated to point out that the two cases in Tallahassee are not enough to give a representative sample. My law partner, Jaeson Homola, and I tried a herniated disc UM case last year in Tallahassee and got a $115,000 verdict, which is more in alignment with reality. Finally, the Rest-of-State region included 77 cases with an average case value of $147,628.81 including defense verdicts and outliers and an average case value of $76,457.43 not including defense verdicts and outliers.
The average case value for a certain type of injury reveals little about the value of an individual case. For more complete information about how to place a value on an individual case, please visit our “What is my case worth?” blog.
If you’re a potential client or an attorney seeking a second opinion and would like to discuss the value of your case, please feel free to call us anytime at (850)224-3310.
