$1,132,491 Federal Court Jury Verdict in Gulfport 18-Wheeler Accident Case
On Tuesday a federal court jury in Gulfport returned a verdict of $1,132,491 in a case involving an 18–wheeler rear-end collision on I-10 in Harrison County. Here is the verdict form, which awarded the following damages:
- medical expenses: $132,491.50
- lost earnings: $850,000
- non-economic damages: $150,000.
The jury assigned 1% fault to an unknown driver. As a result, judgment was entered against the defendants for $902,376.59. Here is the judgment.
Here is the original complaint filed in state court. The case was removed to federal court.
Kasie Braswell of Mobile represented the plaintiff. Benny 'Mac' May of Dunbar Monroe in Ridgeland represented the defendants. Judge Louis Guirola was the trial judge.
My Take:
I can't tell who won. The defendant presumably did not admit liability based on the apportionment part of the verdict form. So plaintiff getting a verdict against the defendant was a win for the plaintiff.
But the amount of the verdict seems small for this case. The plaintiff had economic damages of almost $1 million. The jury's award of $150,000 in non-economic damages was a victory for the defense. Once you factor in attorney's fees, the plaintiff would not be made whole by this verdict even if she had no non-economic damages. But with $132,000 in medicals, the plaintiff probably had substantial pain and suffering. So both sides can find something to like about this verdict.
I find it odd that the parties stipulated that each would bear its own costs. Why would a successful plaintiff forego recoverable costs, which can be substantial in federal court?
Upon further review, it's clear that the judgement is the result of a settlement, as it is $218,790.00 less than the net of the jury's award.
Hasn't Dunbar Monroe been popped lately for a couple of big verdicts? Seems like I've read a couple of previous posts re some big trucking verdicts where D-M was defense counsel.
Wow. That the first million dollar verdict in Harrison County I have seen in a long time.
DunbarMonroe (David Dunbar) was for the plaintiff in a knee surgery verdict (medical malpractice) gone bad in Natchez. $511,621. Ford v. Fairbanks, November 10, 2010.