BREVARD MAN REJECTS $100K SETTLEMENT IN CAR CRASH; AWARDED $3.2 MILLION

• A Brevard County jury awarded a 53-year-old man $3.2 million for injuries from a 2023 car crash.
• The man, a passenger in a pickup truck, was injured when another driver ran a stop sign.
• Attorneys for the injured man declined a pre-trial settlement offer of $100,000 from Geico Insurance.

A 53-year-old Titusville man badly injured in a 2023 car crash was awarded $3.2 million in damages and medical expenses after declining a $100,000 offer from insurers.

A Brevard County jury issued the verdict in civil court on Aug. 6, in a case presided over by Brevard County Circuit Court Judge Samuel Bookhardt III at the Moore Justice Center. The trial began Aug. 4.

The verdict stems from injuries Donald D. Budd and his attorneys said he sustained in a Dec. 28, 2023, crash on South Street near Foley Street in Titusville.

Attorneys for Budd said another driver, insured by GEICO, ran a stop sign and crashed into the pickup truck in which Budd was a front-seat passenger.

Under the terms of the insurance policy, GEICO had provided motorist Robert Hale with a policy covering $100,000 per person/$300,000 per collision, court records show. No criminal charges were filed in the case.

Budd was "ultimately diagnosed with disc herniations and facet injuries in his neck and back, a torn ligament in his elbow and carpal tunnel syndrome," his attorneys said. 

Budd’s attorneys declined GEICO’s pre-trial settlement offer of $100,000 and opted to move forward with a trial highlighting their client’s injuries.

“Our client has endured years of grueling treatment and pain that colors every day of his life because of the defendant driver’s mistake. Yet Geico repeatedly failed to compensate him for the very injuries caused by their insured’s actions,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Nick Russo in a statement sent to FLORIDA TODAY.

“Since the crash, our client struggles to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, and simple actions like household chores and tying his shoes result in agony. We’re pleased the jury awarded a verdict commensurate with the impact these injuries have had on his life.”

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.

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