A jury has awarded an injured driver $50,512 in compensation for a back injury in a pick-up truck accident after a hearing at Bibb County State Court.
Horace Thomas from Macon in Georgia made his claim for compensation for a back injury in a pick-up truck accident after being involved in a crash on 23rd August 2013. The accident happened as Horace was turning left into a private driveway, and was hit on the passenger door by another pick-up truck driver by Kenneth Brown.
Brown had been following Horace along the road and, believing he was pulling in to park on the right hand side of the road, went to overtake him. However, Horace turned left across his path and Brown had nowhere to go. Brown actually left the scene of the accident to unload his truck and returned later after Horace had been to hospital.
At the hospital, Horace was evaluated and diagnose with a soft tissue back injury. Due to the ongoing pain in his back, Horace attended the OthoGeorgia Sports Medicine Clinic, where he was treated by Jay Cranford D.C. on nineteen separate occasions.
To recover his medical costs and loss of income, Horace claimed compensation for a back injury in a pick-up truck accident against Brown – alleging that he had been negligent in the operation of his vehicle and negligent in trying to overtake Horace as he was turning left.
Brown contested the claim and repeated his argument that, when Horace had started maneuvering his vehicle, it appeared that he was pulling in to park on the right hand side of the road. With no resolution to the claim, the case went to the Bibb County State Court where it was presented to a jury.
As part of the testimony, the jury was shown an accident reconstruction in which the relative position of the two pick-up trucks before and during the accident was demonstrated. Following the accident reconstruction, the jury took just 1½ hours to find 90 percent in favor of Horace.
The jury initially awarded Horace $56,125 compensation for a back injury in a pick-up truck accident – $50,000 for his past pain and suffering, $5,425 for his medical costs and $700 for his lost earnings. This was subsequently reduced to $50,512 to account for Horace´s 10 percent comparative negligence.