Royalston v. Middlebrooks (A10A0314) - Auto Accident
At 7:00 a.m. on July 28, 2005, John S. Royalston, who was driving a truck for the Georgia Sandwich Company, Inc. (GSC), struck Collie Middlebrooks's pickup truck. Middlebrooks suffered severe and permanent injuries as a result of the accident and brought a personal injury action against Royalston and GSC.
An eyewitness testified that Royalston was "speeding" and "repeatedly changed lanes and passed vehicles." Additionally, a traffic accident reconstructionist testified that based on his investigation, Royalston could have avoided the collision if he had been driving the speed limit or paying attention. Royalston testified that he had two speeding tickets on his record when he was hired by GSC and that he had received six additional speeding tickets between the time he was hired by GSC and the time of the accident. The evidence showed that GSC had knowledge of Royalston's driving habits.
The jury awarded Middlebrooks $3.06M in compensatory damages, $1M in punitive damages, and $621.78K in attorneys' fees. In May 2010, the Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment against Royalston and GSC and held that the damages were not unreasonable.
Georgia corporations can be held responsible for their negligent decisions to hire and retain reckless drivers.
If you've been injured in an auto accident, contact the Delius Law Firm at 404-352-3400 today.
