Vol. 55 No. 7

Trial Magazine

Verdicts & Settlements: Motor Vehicle Liability

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Impaired Driver Rear-ends Van, Killing Child and Severely Injuring Others

July 2019

Teenager Jacob Lee was driving a Dodge Ram truck on a state roadway. After running a red light at an intersection, he approached a second intersection, where he rear-ended a van carrying the Johnson family, which was stopped at a red light.

David Johnson, 35, suffered a concussion. His wife, Susannah, 34, who was pregnant at the time of the crash, suffered fractures to all of her ribs. Two of their daughters, 8 and 10, suffered bilateral hip fractures and other orthopedic injuries. Their six-year-old daughter suffered fatal injuries, and their three-year-old son suffered a spinal injury that resulted in quadriplegia.

The Johnsons sued Lee, alleging he had been driving 78 mph while under the influence of alcohol and the inhalant difluoroethane. The defendant conceded liability.

The jury awarded the Johnsons over $128.81 million. Lee was sentenced to 30 years in prison for vehicular homicide.

Citation: Johnson v. Lee, No. 2012-V-505 (Ga. Super. Ct. Fannin Cnty. Sept. 14, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: Darren Summerville, AAJ member Brian D. Rogers, and Anna Cross, all of Atlanta.

Plaintiff experts: J.P. Gingras, economics, Atlanta; and LuRae Ahrendt, life care planning, Marble Hill, Ga.