$13.5 Million Verdict for Portland Pedestrian Who Lost His Leg to a Garbage Truck
Won by Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys.
Scott Busch was crossing a Portland crosswalk with the right-of-way when a McInnis Waste Systems garbage truck struck him and severed his leg; a jury awarded $13.5 million, and the Oregon Supreme Court struck down the state's $500,000 noneconomic damages cap as applied to his case.
What happened
Scott Busch was on his way to work on a downtown Portland morning when he stepped into a crosswalk with the right-of-way. A garbage truck operated by McInnis Waste Systems did not yield. By the time the truck stopped, Busch's leg was pinned beneath it, attached to his body by a narrow strip of skin. Surgeons amputated the limb above the knee.
Busch retained Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys to pursue the case through Multnomah County Circuit Court. The trial team presented evidence of permanent disability, lost earning capacity, and the physical and psychological toll of a catastrophic amputation in middle age. The jury returned a verdict of $3,021,922 in economic damages and $10,500,000 in noneconomic damages, totaling $13,521,922.
The trial court then applied Oregon's statutory cap on noneconomic damages under ORS 31.710(1), slashing the $10.5 million award to $500,000. The result was a final judgment of just over $3.5 million. Paulson Coletti appealed.
The Oregon Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the cap violated the remedy clause of Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution as applied to Busch's injuries. McInnis Waste Systems took the fight to the Oregon Supreme Court.
In July 2020, the Supreme Court affirmed. The court found that reducing a $10.5 million noneconomic award to $500,000 represented such a dramatic departure from common law that the legislature's justification for the cap could not sustain it. The full $13,521,922 verdict was reinstated. The ruling remains one of the most consequential Oregon decisions on the constitutionality of damages caps in catastrophic personal injury cases.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.FindLaw: Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems, Inc., Oregon Supreme Court opinion (2020)·Archived copy
- 2.Smith Freed Eberhard: Busch v. McInnis Waste Sys., Inc., damages cap analysis (2018 Court of Appeals decision)·Archived copy
- 3.U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform: Busch v. McInnis Waste Systems, Inc. case page·Archived copy
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