Velez Rivera v. Lopes

In a personal-injury auto case, defense counsel successfully excluded as hearsay a Family Medical Group notation assigning plaintiff a 4% permanent impairment rating, then argued in closing that no one at that facility ever rendered a permanency opinion. The Fourth DCA affirmed the denial of a mistrial and new trial, holding that counsel may properly point out the absence of properly excluded evidence, distinguishing Hernandez/JVA Enterprises (which involved improperly excluded evidence), and finding any imprecision in counsel's phrasing harmless.

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