The following is another of Georgia’s Top Motor Vehicle Verdicts in 2013 ~ part 2:
The Plaintiff in a Chatham County State Court Motor Vehicle case was awarded a total of $ 12,300,000 for a tree limb that fell causing head trauma, brain injury and damage, amputation of a leg, and a broken pelvis.
The case was Shanta Greene, Louis Anderson and Xavier Anderson v. The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, No. STCV1200532, and the date of the verdict was August 22, 2013.
The facts of the case are summarized as follows that Shanta Greene, age 28, was in a vehicle being driven by Louis Anderson, Greene’s cousin, in Savannah, Georgia, along with her nephew, Xavier Anderson, a young age 6, when a tree limb that was 30 feet approximately above the vehicle on the road way that fell on the vehicle.
The tree limb then crashed into, and through, the roof of the truck crushing Greene’s pelvic area, causing injuries to her leg, and also a head injury that was traumatic. The other passengers, Xavier and Louis suffered only injuries that were minor.
Ms. Greene, who suffered the most serious injuries, was taken from the scene by ambulance to the hospital where she stayed for 75 days as a result of the injuries she sustained. As a result of the leg injury, Ms. Greene’s left leg, just above the knee, had to be amputated.
Ms. Greene also suffered, due to the head injury, brain damage and underwent a total of 35 surgeries with five (5) surgeries that were anticipated for the future. Her medical expenses were almost $ 1 million with over $ 5 million anticipated for future and past loss of economics as well as $ 15 million approximately for noneconomic type damages.
All three of the people injured, Louis, Greene, and Xavier filed suit against the City of Savannah Mayor alleging that the tree was not maintained properly even though there had been prior claims that the tree posed a potential danger since in 2007 there was an incident where another limb fell from the same tree.
In fact, there were records from the city that showed that the city had been asked to deal with the tree rot and further damage to the tree at prior dates. The Plaintiff’s argued that in light of this evidence that the city was, therefore, not able to claim the defense of sovereign immunity.
Counsel for the City presented evidence that the tree had just been inspected within six (6) weeks of this incident and that no signs of damage or rot were present and, therefore, no assessment of risk was obtained, and that there was further no evidence of defect of the tree.
After a nine (9) day trial, and only one (1) day of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of all the Plaintiffs and awarded $ 12,000,000 to Ms. Greene, $ 20,000.00 to Mr. Louis Anderson, and $ 10,000 to Mr. Xavier Anderson.
I will discuss the final Top Georgia Motor Vehicle Verdict in 2013 in my next blog post titled, “Georgia’s Top Motor Vehicle Verdicts in 2013 ~ part 3.”
At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates we are experts at catastrophic injury cases whether the fault lies with a private party or, as in this case, a government entity, so if you or a loved one has been injured or killed in an accident such as this, then please Contact Us for your free legal consultation.
Since there are specific rules that apply to lawsuits involving government entities, it is imperative that you contact us as soon as possible so that we can represent you in the best manner possible under the circumstances, and get you all of the compensation that you and your loved ones deserve.