Nearly $4 Million Verdict for Family of Man, 22, Who Died of Burns After Box Truck Hit His Disabled Car
Won by The Mabra Firm.
Malcolm Jordan, 22, was struck from behind by an Arnold Moving Company box truck whose driver was allegedly texting while driving, causing Jordan's disabled car to spin into a guardrail and catch fire; he died twenty days later from his injuries, and a federal jury awarded nearly $4 million to his parents and the mother of his young child.
What happened
Just before midnight on April 20, 2016, Malcolm Jordan was driving south on Interstate 75 in Gordon County, Georgia. His car struck the rear of a van ahead of him. The van moved to the shoulder, but Jordan's vehicle was left disabled and unable to clear the travel lane.
Minutes later, a box truck operated by Vladimir H. Balsa, a driver employed by Arnold Moving Company, Inc. (doing business as A. Arnold World Class Relocation), bore down on the stopped car. According to the plaintiffs' allegations at trial, Balsa was texting immediately before impact, in violation of Georgia traffic law. His truck struck Jordan's car from behind, spinning it into a guardrail. The car burst into flames.
Balsa and a bystander pulled Jordan from the burning vehicle. He was airlifted to an emergency room. Jordan was 22 years old. He died twenty days later from his injuries.
The case was filed in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia, Rome Division, under case number 4:16-cv-00272. Bobby Jordan and Sherri Bell, as co-administrators of their son's estate, and Heather Douthitt, as guardian of Malcolm Jordan's minor child, named Arnold Moving Company and its insurer as defendants alongside Balsa. The central liability theory was vicarious: Arnold Moving was responsible for Balsa because he was driving within the course and scope of his employment at the time.
Ronnie Mabra of The Mabra Firm, LLC represented the family at trial. The plaintiffs had to establish both that Balsa was texting and that Arnold Moving bore responsibility for the conduct of its driver. According to VerdictSearch's May 2018 report on the verdict, the jury found for the plaintiffs. The jury awarded Jordan's widow approximately $3.77 million, his parents $185,131, and the family $11,899 in funeral expenses, for a total verdict of roughly $3.96 million.
The case number filed in the Northern District of Georgia is confirmed in the publicly available court complaint.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
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