After a week-long trial in Indian River County, GCF’s personal injury team of Dane Ullian, Jason Odom and David Carter secured a jury verdict of almost $3.9 million dollars to a very deserving GCF client. The case arose out of a 2019 “T-bone” automobile crash caused by an inattentive driver who ran a stop sign and collided with GCF’s client while was on his way home after assisting a local charity. As a result of the crash, GCF’s client suffered multiple fractures and a mild traumatic brain injury with permanent symptoms.
Before GCF filed suit, the defendant’s insurance company, State Farm, failed to fairly evaluate the claim by offering GCF’s client less than $39,000.00. As a result of this grossly insufficient offer, GCF filed suit and proceeded to trial. After hearing several days of liability and medical evidence, the jury took a little over 3 hours to return a verdict of just under $3.9 million, approximately 100 times the amount originally offered by State Farm.
Gould Cooksey Fennell’s Trial Team
David Carter has been a partner at Gould Cooksey Fennell since 1996. He founded and chairs the firm’s Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Group. Mr. Carter is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by the Florida Bar. He has been included in the Best Lawyers in America rankings since 2012. This publication has twice named him Personal Injury Litigation Plaintiff’s Lawyer of the Year for Central Florida. He is the only Treasure Coast attorney to achieve this distinction.
Dane Ullian is a member of the firm’s litigation team and focuses his practice on jury trials of personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death cases as well as business governance and trust disputes. Mr. Ullian has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star four years in a row, and a Best Lawyers Ones to Watch in 2021, 2022, and 2023. He graduated ranked number one in his class at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and previously served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force.
Jason Odom focuses his practice on personal injury and medical negligence, and probate and trust litigation. He is a board-certified specialist in Civil Trial by the Florida Bar, has been named a Super Lawyer by Law & Politics Magazine since 2017, and has served on various Florida Supreme Court committees, including the committees on Civil Trial Jury Instructions and Professionalism. Mr. Odom is also an honored former member of our nation’s armed services, serving in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and achieving the rank of sergeant.
