Victim of multiple car accidents cannot recover verdict for PIP benefits
Lisa Delk was hurt in car wrecks in 1995, 1996 and 2004. She was treated for back and neck injuries after all of the collisions, and her 2004 doctors testified that the last car accident aggravated her existing problems. After "3 or 4 months" of treatment she was referred to a neurosurgeon who agreed with the family doctor that her current spinal condition was exacerbated by the 2004 collision, as did a spinal surgeon. State Farm discontinued paying for medications, however, in 2007, and Delk filed suit.
The jury concluded that she suffered no injury in the 2004 collision. The Court of Appeals ruled that this outcome was not "against the great weight of the evidence" since the jury could have concluded that Delk's problems were entirely degenerative.