Carroll County Jury Awards $2,359,268 in Stop Sign Collision

On January 18, 2017, a collision occurred at the intersection of S.R. 29 and S.R. 18 in the Town of Flora, Carroll County. The defendant, driving east on S.R. 18, ran a stop sign and struck the plaintiff's vehicle, which was traveling south on S.R. 29. The plaintiff sustained bilateral ankle fractures, a broken wrist, and fractured ribs, requiring surgeries on an ankle and wrist. The plaintiff spent three months in a rehabilitation hospital, incurring $359,000 in medical bills and $40,000 in lost wages from a year of missed work. The plaintiff later developed post-traumatic arthritis in her leg, resulting in a limp and difficulty with physical care for a disabled adult child.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant, alleging negligence for failing to yield the right-of-way and running the stop sign. The plaintiff also pursued an uninsured/underinsured motorist claim with her own insurer, which was settled, leading to the insurer's dismissal from the case. The defendant disputed the allegations, claiming the plaintiff was comparatively at fault for driving too fast and challenging the extent of the plaintiff's claimed injuries.

The case proceeded to a two-day trial in Delphi. After deliberating for one hour and forty minutes, the jury returned a verdict finding the defendant 100% at fault for the collision. The jury awarded the plaintiff $2,359,268 in damages, for which the court subsequently entered a judgment.