Verdict & Settlement Report Form

Virginia Lawyers Weekly publishes Verdicts & Settlements to help lawyers assess the value of their cases. Each submitted Verdict & Settlement Report should provide the case style, court and case number. It is a Virginia Lawyers Weekly company policy not to publish Verdict & Settlement Reports that do not provide this information to our editors. Such data can be kept confidential, upon request of the submitting attorney.

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Type of Action: Wrongful Death and Personal Injury

Type of Injuries: Death of 25 year old nurse and Chronic PTSD and Depression in surviving husband

Name of Case: Isaiah Lester individually and Administrator of the Estate of Jessica Lester

Court/Case No.: Charlottesville Circuit Court 08-150, Albemarle Circuit Court 09-223 Consolidated

Tried before (judge, jury, mediation, etc.): Jury

Name of Judge: Edward L. Hogshire

Special Damages: Personal Injury action: $27,180.00 Wrongful Death action: Medicals $110,020.00 Funeral expenses $5,987.00 Pecuniary loss to husband $1,110,307.00

Verdict or Settlement: Verdict

Amount: Personal Injury: $2,350,000.00 plus interest from 04-22-08

Wrongful Death: Husband $6,227,000.00 plus interest from 04-22-08 Mother $1,000,000.00 plus interest from 04-22-08 Father $1,000,000.00 plus interest from 04-22-08

Date: December 9, 2010

Attorney for Plaintiff (and city): Matthew B. Murray (Charlottesville) Malcolm P. McConnell (Richmond) Joe Sanzone (Lynchburg)

Attorney for Defendant (and city): David M. Tafuri (Washington, D.C.)

Expert Witnesses: For Plaintiff: Marilyn Minrath, Ph.D., treating psychologist; J. Anderson Thomson, M.D., treating psychiatrist and John P. Shemo, M.D. forensic psychiatrist, Robert Cook, Ph.D., economist For Defendants: Michael A. Sutton, P.E., Accident Reconstruction and Liza H. Gold, M.D., psychiatrist, Rule 4:11 exam.

Insurance Carrier: The Hartford ($1,000,000) Great American Insurance Company ($5,000,000) AIG ($25,000,000)

Highest Offer: $3,000,000

Demand: $4,450,000

Name and phone number of person submitting report: Matthew B. Murray 434 295 4961

Summary of case: See attached sheet. Isaiah Lester, Adm’ r v. Allied Concrete Company and William Donald Sprouse

Jessica Lester was a passenger in her husband, Isaiah Lester’s Honda heading up Monticello Mountain towards Charlottesville on the morning of June 21, 2008. They met an Allied Concrete Company truck driven by William Donald Sprouse in a blind turn. The truck was up on two wheels and overturned on their car. Jessica’s skull was crushed. She lingered for eight days at UVA Hospital before Isaiah and his mother went to a room beside the operating room where the ventilator was disconnected. Jessica died. Isaiah was given one minute to say goodbye before she was taken to have her organs harvested for donation.

Isaiah developed chronic PTSD and frozen grief. Sprouse was charged with manslaughter and pled guilty on April 22, 2008. Suit was filed. Mediation with Hon. Paul Sheridan aborted when Great American’s adjuster failed to show up. A second mediation with Hon. Wm. Ledbetter failed with the parties far apart.

Defense counsel gained access to Isaiah’s Facebook page under unusual circumstances, downloaded several photographs and achieved two continuances of the trial date to conduct discovery of Facebook in California. Defendants retained an IT expert who testified Plaintiff had deleted 16 photographs from his Facebook page after receiving a discovery request for screen print copies of his Facebook. Fifteen of the sixteen photographs were eventually recovered and the court gave a spoliation of evidence/adverse inference instruction.

Defendants alleged contributory negligence on the grounds that Sprouse said a black car was in his lane that caused him to swerve. Defendants called an accident reconstruction expert who testified that the skid/yaw marks left by the concrete truck were consistent with an “avoidance maneuver.” Defendants Rule 4:10 examiner Liza Gold, M.D. agreed that Isaiah had PTSD, but the pictures on his Facebook page were inconsistent with depression. In addition, Dr. Gold was critical that plaintiff’s treating psychiatrist and psychologist did not send him for substance abuse treatment.

After a three day trial, the jury returned a verdict with interest that exceeds $12,000,000.00.