Middlesex Jury Awards $56 Million to Retiree Disabled When Amazon Delivery Van Crossed the Center Line
After trial: Reporting through mid-August 2026 describes no post-trial motion or appeal, but we have not checked the Middlesex docket and cannot confirm the judgment is final or whether any payment has been made. The result is shared with co-counsel at Breakstone, White & Gluck.
Won by Sweeney Merrigan Personal Injury Lawyers and Breakstone, White & Gluck (co-counsel).
A Middlesex Superior Court jury awarded $56 million on July 22, 2026 to Malcolm Carnwath, a 78-year-old retired realtor from Newburyport, Massachusetts. An Amazon delivery driver fell asleep and crossed the center line in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Nov. 16, 2024, causing a head-on crash. Mr. Carnwath suffered a cardiac arrest, multiple strokes with permanent brain injury, and a below-knee amputation of his left leg. Amazon accepted liability days before the two-day damages trial.
What happened
A Middlesex Superior Court jury awarded $56 million on July 22, 2026 to Malcolm Carnwath, a 78-year-old retired realtor from Newburyport, Massachusetts, who was left permanently disabled when an Amazon delivery van crossed into his lane in New Hampshire. Reporters covering the case described it as believed to be the largest single-plaintiff verdict in Massachusetts history and the largest ever returned against Amazon in an injury case.
The crash happened on Nov. 16, 2024. Mr. Carnwath was driving southbound on Lafayette Road in Portsmouth when an Amazon delivery driver heading the other way fell asleep at the wheel, drifted across the center line and struck his car head-on. A dashcam in the van recorded the driver repeatedly closing his eyes and drifting toward oncoming traffic in the moments before impact.
Mr. Carnwath's heart stopped, and medical staff worked for about 12 minutes to revive him. He survived, but the loss of oxygen and a series of strokes left him with permanent brain damage. His left leg was amputated below the knee, and he underwent repeated surgeries for fractures and organ injuries during roughly six months in the hospital. He cannot walk, stand or care for himself, and he needs round-the-clock care for the rest of his life. At the time of the trial he was being treated at Whittier Rehabilitation Hospital in Haverhill. His guardian, Kerrie Deragon, is the named plaintiff in the case.
Marc Breakstone of Breakstone, White & Gluck and J. Tucker Merrigan and Korey Kajko of Sweeney Merrigan represented Mr. Carnwath. About a week before trial, Amazon stipulated to liability, which left the jury to decide only damages. The trial lasted two days before Judge Sarah Weyland Ellis. Massachusetts law lets plaintiffs aged 65 and older press for an early trial date, and the case reached a jury about 20 months after the crash.
The jury returned a verdict of $56 million on July 22. Plaintiffs' lawyers in other cases have pointed to the stipulation as a possible template for future claims involving Amazon delivery vehicles, though defense lawyers say agency questions are decided case by case.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Boston Globe, 'Amazon liable for $56 million in damages to Newburyport man hit by delivery truck, jury rules', July 24, 2026·Archived copy
- 2.Insurance Journal, 'Jury Awards 78-Year-Old Victim $56 Million for Crash Caused by Amazon Delivery Driver', July 27, 2026·Archived copy
- 3.Courtroom View Network, '$56M Amazon Crash Verdict Beats $20M Settlement Offer', July 2026·Archived copy
- 4.Maryland Daily Record, 'Stipulation seen as potential boon to plaintiffs in future Amazon cases', Aug. 18, 2026·Archived copy
- 5.Claims Journal: 'Jury Awards 78-Year Old Victim $56 Million for Crash Caused by Amazon Delivery Driver' (Jul 27, 2026·Archived copy
- 6.The Daily News of Newburyport: 'Port man awarded $56M after being hit by Amazon van' (Caitlin Dee, 2026)·Archived copy
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