Vanderbilt Verdict Slashed

Rob McKinney

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The Tennesse Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court reducing a 16 million dollar jury verdict to 6.5 million dollars . The case involved Vanderbilt University Medical Center here in Nashville . A doctor accidentally removed 90% of a child's bladder . A jury awarded a verdict of 16.5 million in May of 2005 . Can a judge lower a jury verdict ?

Under Tennessee Law , a Trial court can raise or lower a jury verdict if requested .The procedure is an additur or remittitur . An additur is the power of a trial judge to increase an inadequate award made by a jury . A remittittur is when a judge decreases the amount a jury awards . In this case the judge reduced the jury verdict by almost 10 million dollars . The lesson is a verdict is not set in stone .