Hanover Jury Awards $6 Million to Motorcyclist Who Lost His Left Leg in Ashland Left-Turn Crash
After trial: The defendant noted an appeal of the judgment, and we found no appellate ruling. Virginia Lawyers Weekly reported that all available insurance coverage has been paid.
Won by Allen Allen Allen & Allen.
A 40-year-old motorcyclist lost his left leg below the knee after a driver turned left across his path on U.S. Route 1 in Ashland, Virginia. The trial judge ruled the driver negligent as a matter of law and struck the contributory negligence defense, leaving only damages for the jury. On November 20, 2025, a Hanover County jury awarded $6 million after about 30 minutes of deliberation. The defendant has noted an appeal.
What happened
A Hanover County jury returned a $6 million verdict on November 20, 2025, for a 40-year-old motorcyclist whose left leg was amputated below the knee after a collision in Ashland, Virginia. The jury reached its number after roughly 30 minutes of deliberation.
The crash happened on U.S. Route 1 at England Street. The defendant, Smithers, was driving southbound and faced a flashing yellow arrow. According to Virginia Lawyers Weekly, the driver failed to yield the right of way while turning left onto England Street and struck the side of the plaintiff's northbound motorcycle.
The injuries to the plaintiff's left leg were severe. He suffered open fractures of the femur and tibia, along with badly broken heel bones and ruptured tendons and ligaments. Surgeons first tried to save the limb. When those efforts failed, the leg was amputated below the knee 17 days after the crash.
Liability did not reach the jury. Traffic camera footage of the collision was in evidence, and Judge Joseph J. Ellis ruled that the defendant was negligent as a matter of law. He also struck the defense of contributory negligence, which in Virginia would have barred recovery entirely had the jury found the rider even partly at fault. That left one question for the jurors: how much the plaintiff was owed for the loss of his leg, his medical care, and his wages.
Edward L. Allen and Anna Katogiritis of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen tried the case for the plaintiff. Together they presented the damages case to a jury seated in Hanover County Circuit Court, the same court that covers the Ashland stretch of Route 1 where the collision happened. Because the judge had already resolved fault, the trial focused on the amputation, the surgeries and treatment that came before it, and the work the plaintiff lost as a result.
The jury's award covered those losses, and it came after only about half an hour of deliberation.
After the verdict, insurance coverage available in the case was paid, and the defendant noted an appeal of the judgment. We found no appellate opinion or docket entry showing how the appeal has been decided.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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