“The discretionary evidentiary rulings made at the trial court were manifestly unjust…”
Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin has announced that the New Jersey Superior Court (Appellate Division) has overturned a $18.9 million jury verdict and award previously entered against its client Aravind B. Palav, M.D. in a medical malpractice case involving the timeliness of a Cesarean section delivery. The ruling is a complete reversal of the March 17, 2008, jury ruling and judgment against Dr. Palav following a 17-day jury trial in the New Jersey Superior Court (Trial Division) of Monmouth County.
The decision was reversed after the Appellate Division found that the trial court abused its discretion regarding the admission of evidence pertaining to the case. Hangley Aronchick successfully demonstrated that although the trial court issued a limiting instruction in favor of the Insured regarding certain prejudicial testimony at trial, the trial court abused its discretion by delaying one week before issuing that instruction. The Appellate Court also found that the trial court abused its discretion by precluding certain evidence at trial.
In addition to the reversal, Hangley Aronchick also successfully defeated the plaintiffs’ cross-appeal regarding the trial court’s dismissal of the mother’s emotional distress claims against the client.
“The Insureds came to us because they knew that the discretionary evidentiary rulings made at the trial court were manifestly unjust,” said John Stapleton, a shareholder at Hangley Aronchick. “However, overturning a jury verdict and overcoming an abuse of discretion standard for a trial judge’s ruling can be a daunting task. We were able to do both because of our ability to demonstrate clearly and accurately that the findings against our client were prejudicial and unfair.”
“We analyzed every line of the five weeks of trial testimony and exhibits from the jury trial, and despite the difficulty of overturning a jury verdict, we were able to successfully achieve a reversal. Our client is very pleased with the outcome,” said Mark Aronchick, a shareholder at Hangley Aronchick.
The suit against Aravind B. Palav, M.D. was presided by New Jersey Superior Court Judges Carchman, Parrillo and Lihotz. The Hangley Aronchick team was led by shareholders Mark Aronchick and John Stapleton.
