Fulton County Jury Awards $20,000 for Motor Vehicle Negligence

On April 13, 2014, a motor vehicle collision occurred in Fulton County, Georgia, at the intersection of Lee Street and Oakland Lane. The plaintiff driver was struck by a vehicle operated by the defendant driver, which caused the plaintiff's vehicle to then collide with a third vehicle. The plaintiff driver sustained serious injuries, leading to claims for past and future pain and suffering and medical expenses. The plaintiff's spouse also sought damages for loss of consortium. The defendant driver had been charged with following too closely, which the plaintiffs alleged constituted negligence per se.

The plaintiffs filed a complaint seeking full compensation for the plaintiff driver's economic and non-economic damages, and for the spouse's loss of consortium. The defendant admitted simple negligence in causing the accident but disputed that all claimed injuries and damages were directly caused by the collision. The defendant also raised procedural arguments, including claims that the complaint failed to state a claim and did not specifically itemize special damages as required by state law. During litigation, a motion to compel document production from a non-party medical center was granted.

After a consolidated pretrial order was established and the case experienced several continuances, a trial commenced in October 2018. On October 24, 2018, a jury returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The judgment awarded the plaintiff driver $19,000.00 in damages and the plaintiff's spouse $1,000.00 for loss of consortium.