NOTABLE SETTLEMENTS

Dear NONE,

So far, in 2008, these personal injury cases handled by the lawyers of Marsh, Rickard & Bryan stand out:

Roger Lucas and David Marsh settled a case on behalf of an Alabama family who lost their father in a fiery interstate crash involving three 18-wheelers and a car.  This horrendous crash occurred in the eastbound lane of Interstate 20 shortly before it crosses from Alabama into Georgia.  Traffic was almost at a standstill in both eastbound lanes due to construction just across the Georgia line and another wreck close to the Georgia line.  Our client was in the car that was the last in line and was stopped or almost stopped when he and his passenger were run over from behind at full highway speed by the defendant truck driver.  The driver, who also died in the crash, routinely drove the Birmingham to Atlanta route and was well aware of the construction on the interstate and that delays were commonplace.  The driver's company argued that a dip in the roadway made it difficult for the driver to see far enough ahead to be able to stop in time to avoid the wreck.  The company also contended that the physical evidence indicated that our client's car moved suddenly in front of the truck.

David and Jeff Rickard resolved a lawsuit on behalf of a mother who lost her daughter in a fiery wreck that occurred on Highway 72 near Athens, Alabama.  Standing water on this section of the highway caused the driver to lose control of her SUV.  The driver crossed over into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided with another car.  The SUV burst into flames shortly after impact.  Autopsies confirmed that the driver and our client succumbed to the fire and would have survived this impact with minor injuries but for the fire.  David and Jeff pursued a product liability claim involving the design of the fuel storage system against the maker of the SUV and negligent roadway construction claim against the company who worked on the highway.

Mike Beard and David settled another wreck case that occurred on the same stretch of Highway 72 near Athens.  This case grew out of the death of a young mother and her 5-year-old child.  The mother and child died when their car was hit head-on by another vehicle that had hydroplaned and crossed the center line of the highway.  This case focused on the roadway construction.  This particular stretch of Highway 72 was totally flat and when it rained, water did not drain off the road.  Instead, water accumulated on the roadway and on the shoulder of the road.  After numerous accidents, including the two wrecks we handled, some repairs have been made to the highway.

Nat Bryan and Derrick Mills settled a case involving product liability claims against a major automaker in 2008.  This particular case involved the seatbelt system in an SUV. The allegations were that the seatbelt inadvertently released during a wreck on Valleydale Road in Shelby County, which left our client with serious injuries.  The client's SUV was hit in the side causing his SUV to roll over and the client to be ejected from the SUV.  The client suffered a C-4 central cord syndrome with traumatic brain injury and a severe right brachial plexopathy.  The client, a 74 year old retiree, also suffered severe trauma to his face in the accident.

Nat and Henry Cornelius resolved a lawsuit on behalf of an Alabama family whose 13 year old son died when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an oil tanker.  The driver of the tanker truck admitted to traveling 65 mph through a notoriously dangerous intersection in Colbert County.  He was hauling 9,200 gallons of fuel.  During deposition, the driver also admitted that he should have been out of service given the number of hours he had been on the road at the time of the wreck.

Nat and Henry also settled a case arising out of a shooting on farm land in South Carolina.  In this case, we represented a 15 year old Alabama boy who was riding around the farm property in a pick-up truck with some other teen-age boys.  The boys strayed onto the neighbor's land and also drove off with the neighbor's jeep thinking it belonged to their host. The neighbor fired shots at the teen-agers using a high-powered rifle.  Our client suffered a gun shot wound to the chest, from which he has largely recovered.

© 2008 Marsh, Rickard & Bryan, P.C.

No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed

is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.