JAMES WEATHERS and PEACHES WEATHERS V. BUDGET RENT A CAR SYSTEMS, INC. and DILSHAD KHAN (CASE NO. 2003 CA-012378XX AN AD)

AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT: On February 3, 2000, the Plaintiff, James Weathers was exiting the Palm Beach Airport Budget Rent a Car lot in his tractor trailer vehicle loader when this accident occurred.  At the same time that Mr. Weathers was attempting to exit the lot, he came face to face with a Budget bus operated by Dilshad Khan.  Both vehicles came to a stop.  According to the Plaintiff, he was in the process of exiting the cab of his truck to determine whether he had sufficient room to back up his truck when Mr. Khan’s bus maneuvered to the left and struck the right side, top flipper of the Plaintiff’s truck.  The Plaintiff claims that as a result of the impact he was violently thrown back into the cab of his truck.   Mr. Weathers argued that the Mr. Khan negligently tried to pass his truck when he knew that he did not have enough room to pass.

Mr. Weathers claims that as a result of the impact, he sustained injuries to his neck and back, which ultimately necessitated surgical intervention at both the cervical and lumbar levels.  At the time of trial, Mr. Weathers had undergone a total of five surgeries to his spine, including three lumbar spine surgeries and two cervical spine surgeries.  The Plaintiff’s past medical bills totaled over $550,000.  The Plaintiff contended that he will require future surgeries to both spinal segments.  

The defense argued that the Plaintiff had a long history of pre-existing injuries to his neck and back and had no complaints of pain or injuries at the scene of the accident.  In support of these contentions, the defense presented the testimony of an adjuster for the Plaintiff’s employer who arrived at the scene of the accident and interviewed the Plaintiff about the accident.  She testified that Mr. Weathers had no complaints of pain or injury.  Further, the defense highlighted the fact that the Plaintiff insisted throughout discovery that he had never injured his neck or back prior to this accident, though there were several records produced that indicated the contrary.  The defense introduced a sworn affidavit executed by the Plaintiff nine years prior to this accident in which he stated that as a result of neck pains he was unable to travel and work.  In addition, the defense presented the testimony of Dilshad Khan who testified that Mr. Weathers waived him through.  Mr. Khan also testified that he maintained eye contact with Mr. Weathers while he maneuvered to the left, and at no time did he observe Mr. Weathers leave his seat.


Jury Demand: Plaintiff’s asked for $7,000,000, exclusive of Peaches Weathers consortium claim.

Defense Verdict: The jury found that Dilshad Khan was not negligent.