Trial Magazine

Amy Skiba, 43, was driving with two of her children, both 12, when an oncoming driver lost control of his vehicle, crossed the center line, and struck Skiba’s vehicle head-on. Skiba suffered fatal injuries. She is survived by her husband and three children, one of whom is an adult.

Her adult child and representatives for the two minor children sued Eaton Asphalt Paving Co., which performed a resurfacing project on the road approximately two months before the incident.

The plaintiffs asserted that the defendant negligently performed the project by failing to mill the road and install a safety wedge as required by its contract with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. The defendant’s actions raised the surface of the road and made the road edge drop-off higher, the plaintiffs asserted. Suit did not claim lost income.

The jury awarded $74 million.

Citation: Godwin v. Eaton Asphalt Paving Co., Nos. 19-CI-00331, 19-CI-00050 (Ky. Cir. Ct. Boone Cty. July 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Ronald E. Johnson Jr. and Jay R. Vaughn, both of Louisville, Ky.

Plaintiff experts: Joseph Stidman, accident reconstruction, Wooten, Ky.; and Glenn Farr, toxicology, Knoxville, Tenn.

Defense experts: Ken Agent, accident reconstruction, Lexington, Ky.; and Harry Plotnick, toxicology, Cincinnati.