Trial Magazine

Gernardo Cato, a 19-year-old college student, was a passenger in an SUV that was traveling southbound on a highway. As Cato and his four friends drove through a construction zone that was part of an approximately 12-mile road rehabilitation project, the SUV suddenly left the highway and entered a grassy median. The driver attempted to reenter the paved roadway, but the vehicle’s right front tire encountered a 4.5-inch asphalt drop-off. The driver oversteered to the right and lost control of the vehicle, which crossed the median and flipped over, landing in the highway’s northbound lanes.

Cato, who was the only survivor of the crash, suffered a severe traumatic brain injury and now experiences mood disturbances, issues with concentration, and other problems. He also has an increased risk of developing dementia. His past medical expenses totaled approximately $203,700.

Cato sued the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) and Archer Western Construction Co., the general contractor selected by SCDOT, alleging the defendants had created a hazardous roadway condition by allowing the 4.5-inch drop-off and by failing to backfill the area to eliminate the drop-off. The plaintiff asserted that the defendants should have used a safety edge to create a sloped transition from the roadway to the median and also should have warned motorists of the dangerous condition.

The jury awarded over $13.1 million, apportioning liability at 60% to Archer Western and 40% to SCDOT.

Citation: Cato v. S.C. Dep’t of Transp., No. 2017-CP-40-4432 (S.C. Ct. Com. Pl. Richland Cty. June 14, 2021).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members William E. Applegate IV, David B. Lail, and Reynolds H. Blankenship, all of Charleston, S.C.

Plaintiff experts: Peter Parsonson, roadway safety, Atlanta; Kendrick Richardson, accident reconstruction, and Tricia Yount, economics, both of Charleston; and Deborah Caskey, vocational rehabilitation, Charlotte, N.C.

Defense experts: Paul Raad, roadway engineering, and Joel Leonard, vocational rehabilitation, both of Columbia, S.C.; Brian Boggess, engineering, Charlotte; C. Michael Dickinson, accident reconstruction, Atlanta; and Paul Pritchard, neurology, Charleston.