Tag Archives: jury verdicts

A driver who was hit by a truck and whose wife died in the accident had his multi-million dollar jury award upheld even though new evidence showed that before the trial he erased incriminating evidence on his Facebook page. Isaiah Lester and his wife Jessica were riding in a car in 2007 when a cement truck driven by William Donald Sprouse crossed the center line. The truck tipped over and crushed the Lesters’ vehicle. Jessica was killed in the accident. …

The city of San Diego must pay $7.6 million to a man who is now paralyzed thanks to a giant palm tree that fell on him, crushing both his legs. A Queen Palm fell onto Michael Burke’s property, landing on top of his car after a four-day storm in January of 2010. Burke, a 58-year-old attorney, called a friend to give him a ride to work, but turned back when Burke realized he had forgotten his computer in his car. …

In the past two weeks, the Los Angeles Police Department has been hit with two multi-million dollar jury verdicts for police shootings – one for shooting an unarmed murder suspect and another for shooting and Tasering a mentally ill woman. In the first incident, LAPD officers were attempting to arrest Robert Contreras for an alleged drive-by shooting in 2005. They claimed he turned toward them holding an object which turned out to be a cell phone. Officers shot Contreras, and …

A couple injured in a multi-car wreck caused by an out-of-control dump truck won a jury award of more than $10 million. Theodus Williams was driving a 1979 Mack dump truck for Valvano Construction Inc. when he lost control of the truck that was loaded with stone. He hit a line of cars on a city street causing a chain reaction. One of those cars then hit Robert and Holly Ann Kuchwara’s car and sent the couple’s Toyota SUV into …

A Colorado man who claims he developed lung problems from inhaling a chemical used in buttered microwave popcorn has won a $7.2 million jury verdict against the manufacturer and grocery-store sellers of the popcorn. A federal jury on September 19 agreed with plaintiff Wayne Watson, 59, that his condition – bronchiolitis obliterans – was caused by inhaling diacetyl, a chemical that was until recently used to make that buttery microwave popcorn flavor. Gilster-Mary Lee, the manufacturer; and Kroger and Dillons …