Florida jury awards $1.5M in wreck

Despite a pre-existing back condition, a Florida woman was awarded $1.5 million after she was injured in a car accident.

Sharon Morse, a postal worker, was stopped in a line of traffic when she was struck from behind by a car driven by an 18-year-old male. After the accident, Morse, who

There was no question of liability, but the defense contended that the severity of her injuries was caused by a pre-existing condition, not the accident.

Defense lawyer Danny Methe noted that Morse - who is deaf - also suffered from vertigo and had filed for disability three months before the accident. Her pre-existing back condition and vertigo were the reasons she couldn't work - not the accident, he claimed.

Plaintiffs' attorney Jason Weisser acknowledged during a six-day trial that there was only a minimal impact from the accident, and that Morse had a pre-existing back condition called spondylolisthesis (slipped vertebrae). But he produced X-rays and medical testimony that her back condition had been asymptomatic for five years before the accident.