Defense verdict following motorcycle/truck collision
Facts: HCF’s clients were Commercial Disposal and its driver, Steve Nelson. Plaintiff was operating a motorcycle on Fulton Industrial Blvd. in Atlanta and alleged that Defendants’ tractor-trailer illegally changed lanes and struck Plaintiff causing severe injuries. Defendants countered that Plaintiff was the one who improperly changed lanes and struck the front of Defendants’ tractor. Following the accident, Defendants’ vehicle was declared “out of service” by a DOT inspector due to improper brake adjustment on the trailer. Despite Plaintiff’s claims, there were two eyewitnesses who corroborated Mr. Nelson and testified that he never changed lanes and that the accident was indeed caused by Plaintiff.
A complicating issue in the case was that Defendant Nelson was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer following this accident. In addition, he was incarcerated about six months following the accident on charges that he had murdered a college student in Ohio in the early 1980s. Knowing that Mr. Nelson would not survive long enough to appear at trial, HCF’s attorneys preserved his testimony for trial by way of videotape deposition taken from the Cobb County, Georgia Jail two weeks after the lawsuit was filed (HCF supplied Mr. Nelson with “civilian clothes” for the camera). Mr. Nelson indeed passed away about 18 months prior to trial and the murder charges were dismissed without a formal resolution.
Alleged injury/damages: Plaintiff’s body was physically run over by Defendants’ tractor, which fractured Plaintiff’s pelvis in two places and required three surgeries to correct. Plaintiff was also required to wear an internally fixated, external halo around his pelvis for 12 weeks following the accident. Plaintiff also had to undergo skin grafting procedures to repair areas of skin that were essentially scraped off during the accident. Plaintiff presented medical expenses of $67,662.51. He claimed he was completely disabled as a result of the accident and presented a total lost-income claim of $520,000.
Last offer/Last demand: Plaintiff demanded Defendants’ $1 million liability limits. Defendants offered $25,000.
Result: Defense verdict
Court: State Court of Cobb County, Georgia
Attorneys: Richie Foster and Pamela Lee for Defendants; Jan Cohen and Steve McConnell of Weinstock & Scavo for plaintiff