PELL CITY, Ala. (May 5, 2016) – A jury awarded one of the largest wrongful death judgments in St. Clair County.
Local attorney Charlie Robinson said a St. Clair County jury handed down a $6.5 million judgment in a wrongful death civil lawsuit involving a fatal two-vehicle collision along Interstate 59 in Springville. The accident happened in 2012.
He said the jury ruled in favor of the family of Harvey Russell Collins Jr., 80, of Birmingham, the victim in the two-vehicle collision.
According to news account of the accident, Collins was killed when a tractor trailer traveling south along I-59 crossed the median and struck the victim’s SUV head-on.
Robinson said the lawsuit was filed against the driver and the trucking company, Marten Transport of Mondovi, Wisconsin.
“Six and a half million dollars is a lot of money, but given the circumstance of this case where the driver was dishonest on his DOT medical examine, and if it wasn’t for his dishonesty, he would not be qualified to drive,” Robinson said. “An unqualified driver should not be on Alabama roads.”
Robinson said the law firm of Mann and Porter of Birmingham, and the Robinson Law Firm represented the victim’s family.
Bradley, Arant, Boult Cummings, LLP of Birmingham represented the company, and local Pell City law firm of Trussell, Funderburg, Bell, and Rea represented the driver in the civil case.
“We’re not planning to appeal,” said David Hymer, one of the attorneys with the firm that represented the trucking company. “We respect the jury’s decision. We saw it differently than they did, but that’s why we have the jury system to make those decisions."
This article was originally published in The St. Clair Times.
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