Georgia Woman Receives $2.7m Following Motor Vehicle Collision Leaving Her Severely Injured
Cobb Jury awards $2.7M after insurer only offered $250k in disputed liability automobile collision.
Following a 3-day trial by Plaintiff’s Attorneys Jonathan Hayes and Jim Goldstein of Goldstein, Hayes & Lina, on October 12th, Judge Allison Salter of the State Court of Cobb County entered a judgment in the amount of $2,782,264.00 in favor of a Georgia woman, who was injured in a 2018 motor vehicle collision in Roswell. The judgment was for the same amount as the verdict returned by a Cobb County jury a week earlier.
The entry of judgment followed more than five years of litigation between the two drivers of the vehicles involved. According to the 2018 police report and testimony presented at trial, the plaintiff, Amanda Daniels, was driving north on Warsaw Road in Roswell. In the adjacent lane, an unidentified individual stopped, backing by traffic, and waived Defendant Daniel Denton out into the road from a private drive. Denton then crossed 2 lanes of traffic and blindly entered Daniels’ lane, directly causing the collision. Both vehicles were totaled as a result.
At trial, Mr. Denton’s counsel insisted that Ms. Daniels was speeding excessively, upwards of 53MPH, at the time of the ensuing collision, and denied any liability on Mr. Denton’s part. The plaintiff’s accident reconstruction expert, Sean Alexander, explained to the jury that Ms. Daniels was travelling between 25.74 and 45.91MPH in the 35 MPH zone and that the collision would have happened regardless of Ms. Daniels’ speed. The police officer, who investigated the collision in 2018, testified at trial that that Ms. Daniels had the right of way.
As a result of the injuries sustained by Ms. Daniels, she underwent a one-level cervical fusion surgery and incurred approximately $180,000.00 in total medical bills. Ms. Daniels’ treating physician, Michele M. Johnson, M.D., explained in detail to the jury the steps involved in the cervical fusion procedure, and opined that Ms. Daniels’ injuries more likely than not were caused by the subject collision. Ms. Daniels did not make a lost wage claim at trial. In closing argument, the plaintiff’s attorney asked the jury to enter a verdict in the neighborhood of $2.7 million. The defendant’s counsel asked the jury to give the plaintiff nothing.
The defendant was represented by Lee Wellborn of Downey & Cleveland. According to plaintiff’s counsel, the highest settlement offer from the defendant prior to the jury’s verdict was $250,000.00. The $2,782,264.00 judgment, as entered, is now accruing post-judgment interest at the statutory annual rate of 11.5%, which equates to approximately $876 per day. A motion for attorneys’ fees and pre-judgment interest currently is pending before the Court.
