Gwinnett County Jury Awards $28 Million for Father Killed in Head-On Crash by Driver Who Crossed Centerline
After trial: The verdict stood with no appeal we could find. The firm reports the court later added prejudgment interest, attorney's fees and expenses under Georgia's offer-of-settlement statute, which we could not independently confirm, and collection is not public.
Won by Butler Kahn.
Mark Cohen, 54, died on December 11, 2021, when Mary Angela Bell swerved across the centerline and struck his minivan head-on in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Bell admitted liability, so the April 2024 trial in the State Court of Georgia addressed damages only. The jury awarded $28 million, made up of $26.5 million for the full value of Mr. Cohen's life and $1.5 million for his pre-impact fright, shock and terror.
What happened
On December 11, 2021, about two weeks before Christmas, Mark Cohen was driving his minivan home after visiting family in Gwinnett County, Georgia. Mary Angela Bell, driving in the opposite direction, swerved across the centerline and hit his vehicle head-on. Mr. Cohen, who was 54, died in the crash.
Bell was charged criminally with vehicular homicide, and in the civil case brought by Mr. Cohen's family she admitted liability. That left one question for the jury: what his life was worth. The damages-only trial ran from April 15 to April 17, 2024, before Judge Shawn Bratton in the State Court of Georgia, Gwinnett County. Jeb Butler and Matt Kahn of Butler Kahn represented the plaintiffs. Jason Darneille and Anne Gower of Gower, Wooten & Darneille defended Bell, and her side asked the jury for a reasonable verdict rather than contesting fault.
The plaintiffs' case centered on who Mr. Cohen was and how much of his life was taken. He was a father of two, a devoted son, and a man who mentored children in his community and mowed neighbors' yards without being asked. In closing, Mr. Butler told jurors that Mr. Cohen 'deserved better than what he got' and should have died more than 25 years later, in a soft bed, surrounded by people who loved him.
On April 17, 2024, the jury returned $28 million. Of that, $26.5 million was for the full value of Mr. Cohen's life, the wrongful death measure under Georgia law, and $1.5 million was for the fright, shock and terror he experienced before the impact.
After the verdict, the court added prejudgment interest, attorney's fees and case expenses under Georgia's offer-of-settlement statute, O.C.G.A. 9-11-68, according to the firm. We found no appeal of the verdict itself.
A related fight over a pre-suit settlement letter did reach the Court of Appeals of Georgia. Bell's liability insurer, Progressive Mountain Insurance Company, sued the family for a declaration that their February 2023 offer to settle within its policy limits had to meet the requirements of O.C.G.A. 9-11-67.1, and the trial court agreed. On May 27, 2025, the Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the statute's 2021 version covered only offers made before any answer was filed, and the uninsured motorist carrier, Travelers, had already answered when the family sent the letter.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Courtroom View Network, Cohen, et al. v. Bell, trial video, April 15-17, 2024·Archived copy
- 2.Courtroom View Network blog, Crucial Moments from Four Headline-Making Trials·Archived copy
- 3.Court of Appeals of Georgia, Cohen v. Progressive Mountain Insurance Co., No. A25A0116, May 27, 2025·Archived copy
- 4.Butler Kahn (firm)·Archived copy
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