On August 25, 2023, a Cobb Superior Court jury returned a verdict in favor of Ashley Rice’s client after four (4) days of trial.  The lawsuit involved an admitted fault 2019 rear-end accident that resulted in very little property damage to the vehicles.  Plaintiff reported no injury at the scene and proceeded to complete a full day of work at his physically demanding job.  He admitted to a prior lumbar fusion over twenty (20) years earlier but denied any significant lower back problems since that time.  Nine (9) days after the accident, plaintiff began treating for lower back pain that was shooting into his legs.  He underwent months of physical therapy and epidural steroid injections before undergoing an adjacent fusion surgery to L4-5.  Plaintiff presented $305,000 in medical bills and sought over $40,000 in lost wages.  Ms. Rice argued that plaintiff had not been honest about his pre-accident lower back pain and treatment in the years since his initial fusion surgery and that the charges for the healthcare services he received were far in excess of their reasonable value.  Both parties presented testimony of multiple experts on the disputed issues of causation and damages.  Plaintiff had declined a $50,000 offer of settlement pre-trial and requested the jury award $727,000.