Just before 6:00 p.m. in November, 2011, Attorney Albert “Buddy” Dallas was traveling South on Georgia Highway 171 when the lane in which he was traveling was blocked by a logging truck owned by Bass Logging, Inc. and driven by Bennie Dixon. Unable to stop , Mr. Dallas’ pickup truck crashed into the logging truck causing Mr. Dallas to suffer broken vertebrae in his neck and back, and his shoulders were disconnected from his collarbone.
The injuries that Mr. Dallas sustained in the wreck became permanent in nature as he battles pain daily, has continuous shoulder spasms, nerve damage in his face, and exhaustion and trouble sleeping from the pain. The logging company would deny that the driver committed any wrong doing in the incident and would maintain this position throughout the course of the case and into trial.
The case would see a jury trial in 2015 whereby the Plaintiffs, Mr. Dallas and his wife, would seek general damages for Mr. Dallas not being able to maintain his law practice in a way in which he was accustomed and his wife would suffer damages for loss of consortium.
At trial, the Plaintiffs were able to show that the truck did not stop as alleged by the Defendant before taking a turn onto the highway and thereby “taking over the highway”, in the words of the defense, whereby the Plaintiff Mr. Dallas could not avoid the truck. Once the Plaintiff was able to prove liability on the part of the Defendant, then the Plaintiff would proceed to the damages portion of the case. Interestingly, the Plaintiff Mr. Dallas, then age 68, was an attorney with his own successful litigation practice that had to be whittled down to a practice that involved that of what could be done in the office with a paralegal.
The Plaintiff did not want to emphasize his age at the time of the crash (age 68) or at the time of trial (age 72) but rather focus on the lost earnings of going from a law practice that was active with litigation to a more passive practice almost resembling that of corporate counsel. There was also witness testimony at trial that the Plaintiff was never the same. The Jury also heard evidence to support a loss of consortium claim by the Plaintiff’s wife the Honorable Denise Dallas. The jury would ultimately award the Plaintiff Mr. Dallas $ 15 million dollars, and the Plaintiff Mrs. Dallas $ 1.5 Million Dollars. The case is Dallas v. Bass Logging, No. 12-CV-432.
At Julie A. Rice, Attorney at Law, & Affiliates our Personal Injury Lawyers have successfully represented clients in Tractor-Trailer accidents in Atlanta, Georgia as well as surrounding communities such as Decatur, GA, Lawrenceville, GA, Alpharetta, GA, and Marietta, GA just to name a few. If you or a loved one has been injured or terribly killed in an accident involving a Tractor-Trailer or any other Motor Vehicle, then Contact Us today for your Free Legal Consultation. We may be reached by phone at (770) 865-8654, or (813) 363-6664, by email atjuliericelaw@outlook.com, or Contact Us by filling out the form on our website.
We have a collective of over 50 years of legal experience representing clients in Personal Injury Claims so we look forward to speaking with you about your case and determining how we can turn your case into a winning verdict.