A truck accident lawsuit filed by injured motorist Ronnie S. came to a conclusion after two hours of deliberation by the jury. The plaintiff was reportedly awarded $8 million for a crash in which his ankle and wrist were damaged.

According to Courtroom View Network, the truck accident allegedly caused medical financial liabilities adding up to at least $171,000, but Ronnie’s counsel had demanded $10.1 million during closing arguments. He claimed Ronnie had continued to suffer from the consequences of these injuries.

The Truck Accident Details

As indicated in a separate article by Yahoo.com on Nov. 15, 2019, the truck wreck involving driver Donald P. of JRK Trucking Inc. located in Jonesboro, Ga. occurred in 2015 on Interstate 75. The plaintiff was purportedly riding his motorcycle southbound on a day in October when he had to negotiate an orange construction barrel careening into his path.

Allegedly, the barrel had been hit by Donald P. who drove a company dump truck and had tried to enter a construction site by entering a closed lane near the median of the highway. Ronnie’s lawyer argued that the truck driver had been driving negligently.

The dump truck allegedly fled the scene of the accident at the time, and counsel had to undergo a process of elimination to narrow the field of trucking companies and drivers down to the named defendants. This involved a number of interviews with contractors working at the construction site. According to JRK Trucking’s website, the business has closed and has never claimed responsibility for the crash, regardless of the lawsuit.

While the jury was out on deliberation, counsel for the complainant noted that the defendant came to what is known as a “high-low agreement,” which essentially guaranteed a settlement for Ronnie regardless of what kind of verdict was returned. The benefit of this pre-verdict agreement is guaranteed resolution with no appealable issues to drag out further in court.

Fallout from the Accident

The plaintiff reportedly suffered major financial injuries as a result of the truck wreck. According to Freightways.com, Ronnie found himself in the position of having to retire from the U.S. Navy seven years earlier than anticipated due to the extent of his injuries from the crash. At the time of the event, he was a chief petty officer and the shattered ankle prevented him from passing the Navy’s physical readiness test. As part of this test, he was required to be able to run 1.5 miles.

Ronnie’s lawyer argued that his career became stagnated for a full three years after losing control of his motorcycle as it faced the errant construction cone ricocheting into his path. The attorney claimed Ronnie couldn’t perform at a high enough rank to continue to be successful in his career. The trajectory he had built over 23 years ended at that point because he wasn’t able to go out onto ships and became unpromotable.