Out of 37 cases which were randomly selected from jury verdict research across the State of Florida (Fig. 1), we calculated a sample average case value of $104,478.67. Nonetheless, this value was influenced by outlier cases, and we saw a range of case values between $0 and $1.1 million dollars.
Throughout our statistical analysis of the sample, we discovered five values that departed from the trend of data in this sample: $250,000, $443,089, $500,000, $835,000, and $1.1 million dollars. These values, referred to as outliers, are special because they are values that present as far above the average trend of data that we saw in this case. Because of this deviation, outliers can skew averages to be too high (or too low), making them unrepresentative of the sample. Removing these values, and defense verdicts with a $0 value, we saw an adjusted average case value of $51,401.55. This value is more typical than the originally-calculated average case value in the sample.
Figure 1 shows a pie graph where we broke down the geographic regions in the sample which we closer analyzed. The Orlando region was made of cases in Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, the Tallahassee region was made of cases from Leon County, and the Rest-of-State region was made of cases excluding the Orlando and Tallahassee regions. The cases were spread around the State similarly, with some concentration in the counties in southern Florida.
Of the five cases in the Orlando region, we saw a sample average case value of $16,979.80 including defense verdicts as this region did not have any outliers, and an average case value of $28,299.67 excluding defense verdicts. The Tallahassee region only had one case, a plaintiff’s verdict, with an award value of $35,625.25. Finally, the Rest-of-State region showed an average case value including defense verdicts and outliers of $120,812.47 and $59,909.75 excluding these values.
The average case value for a certain type of injury reveals little about the value of any case. For more complete information about how to place a value on any case, please visit our “What is my case worth?” blogs.
To find out more about the outliers in this sample, please click here.
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 me anytime at (850)224-3310.
