Top Georgia Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

$2.53 Billion Ford Super Duty Roof Crush Verdict for a Georgia Couple

A federal jury in Columbus, Georgia awarded $30.5 million in compensatory damages and $2.5 billion in punitive damages against Ford Motor Company for the deaths of Herman and Debra Mills, killed when the roof of their 2015 F-250 Super Duty crushed down on them in a rollover. Butler Prather LLP tried the case, with James E. Butler Jr., Ramsey Prather, Daniel Philyaw, and Allison Bailey on the trial team. The honest frame: Ford called the verdict impermissibly extreme, moved for a new trial, and in September 2025 settled this case and the related $1.7 billion Hill case on confidential terms, so the verdict was never collected as awarded.

After trial: Ford's motion for a new trial was never decided: the case settled on confidential terms in September 2025, and the verdict was never collected as awarded.

Cobb County Jury Awards John Barnes $2.065 Billion in Roundup Cancer Trial

A Cobb County, Georgia jury found that Monsanto's Roundup caused John Barnes's non-Hodgkin lymphoma and awarded him $2.065 billion, with Arnold & Itkin's Kyle Findley serving as lead trial lawyer.

After trial: Bayer settled the case in November 2025 on confidential terms, so the verdict was never collected as awarded.

$1 Billion Verdict for Rape Victim Assaulted by Unlicensed Armed Security Guard

A Clayton County jury awarded $1 billion to a woman who was raped at age 14 by an armed security guard her employer hired without verifying he was licensed to carry a weapon.

After trial: Largely uncollectable: the security company that was found liable had already been dissolved before the verdict.

Sober Living Van Fire on I-85 Ends in $162 Million Settlement

A 2002 Dodge Ram 15-passenger van carrying 16 women from the We Are Living Proof sober-living program rolled over and caught fire on I-85 at the I-985 split in Gwinnett County on April 24, 2021, killing seven and injuring nine others. Families and survivors sued the van's driver, Chrysler and parent company Stellantis, the group home, and two repair shops, alleging a rollover-prone design, a defective steering system, and a fuel system that let gasoline ignite after impact. The claims settled in 2024 for a combined $162,000,000, described as the largest settlement from a single-vehicle wreck in Georgia history. Families and survivors were represented by several firms, including Shiver Hamilton Campbell and Beasley Allen.

After trial: Combined settlement (aggregate for 16 plaintiffs, 7 wrongful-death families and 9 injury claimants, represented across roughly a dozen firms; Shiver Hamilton Campbell represented 2 of the death claims and 4 of the injury claims; individual firm and plaintiff shares are confidential).

$160 Million DeKalb County Verdict Against Sony Music Over Fatal Shooting at Underground Atlanta Concert

A DeKalb County jury awarded $160 million to the families of Ewell Ynoa and Giovan Diaz, two young men shot and killed at a 2017 rap concert at the Masquerade venue in Underground Atlanta, finding Sony Music Holdings failed to protect patrons at the show.

After trial: The award covers two families ($80 million each). Sony, which never appeared before the default judgment, moved in late December 2022 to stay enforcement, saying it had no notice of the case; no public resolution has been reported since.

Bibb County Jury Awards $118 Million Over the Videotaped Beating of a Disabled Man at a Georgia Care Home

A Bibb County State Court jury awarded $118 million, including $90 million in punitive damages, to Joseph Cason Jr. and his mother Betty Gill after surveillance video showed care home employees striking the severely disabled man at least 69 times. The December 2022 verdict against the Total Care defendants was the largest in the court's history.

After trial: Collection and post-trial outcomes are not publicly documented; the defendants are small local companies and individuals.

$77.5 Million Verdict for Family of Man Killed on I-85 Days After Treatment Center Cut His Medication

A DeKalb County jury awarded more than $77.5 million to the family of Nicholas Carusillo, a 29-year-old with bipolar disorder who was taken off lithium at Metro Atlanta Recovery Residences over his providers' objections, discharged over a phone rule violation, and killed on Interstate 85 less than three days later. MARR appealed in May 2024, and the case settled confidentially in 2025 after the Georgia Court of Appeals remanded it for settlement approval.

After trial: MARR appealed in May 2024; in April 2025 the Georgia Court of Appeals remanded the case for approval of a confidential settlement.

$75 Million Verdict for Man Left Locked In After ER and Radiology Missed His Brain Stem Stroke

A Fulton County State Court jury awarded $75 million to Jonathan Buckelew, who suffered a brain stem stroke after a chiropractic neck adjustment at age 32 and was left with locked-in syndrome when an emergency physician and a radiologist failed to diagnose it for a full day. The Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in March 2025.

After trial: Affirmed by the Georgia Court of Appeals on March 10, 2025. The verdict stands.

Schnitzer Steel Settles Fatal Crash Case for $68 Million After $280 Million Verdict

On July 18, 2016, a Schnitzer Southeast tractor-trailer crossed the center line of U.S. Highway 80 in Russell County, Alabama, and killed five members of one family in a head-on collision, including Judy Madere, 58. A Muscogee County State Court jury in Columbus, Georgia found Schnitzer Southeast and its parent, Schnitzer Steel Industries, liable and returned a $280,065,000 verdict for Madere's death on August 23, 2019, reported at the time as the largest wrongful death verdict against a trucking company. Schnitzer said it would appeal, but instead of litigating the verdict, it resolved Madere's suit together with her twin sister Trudy Hebert's separate, still pending suit from the same crash for a combined $68 million in the following fiscal quarter, according to Schnitzer's SEC filings. Three earlier suits from the same crash, brought by the estates of the two children and their mother, had already settled for $35 million combined. The individual amounts within the $68 million settlement are not public.

After trial: Settled. Schnitzer's counsel said after the August 23, 2019 verdict that it planned to appeal, but the company settled this suit and a related one for a combined $68 million in the first quarter of its 2020 fiscal year, substantially covered by insurance. See more

$69.6 Million Verdict for Navy Veteran Paralyzed in Kroger Parking Lot Shooting

A DeKalb County jury awarded $81 million in total damages to LaQuan Taylor, a Navy veteran shot at least 11 times during a robbery in a Kroger parking lot. After apportioning 14 percent of the fault to the two assailants, the judgment against Kroger came to $69,660,000.

After trial: The jury awarded $81 million and put 14 percent of the fault on the two gunmen, who were not defendants, leaving $69.66 million against Kroger. The trial court reduced the judgment to $61.4 million in June 2020. See more

Georgia Doctor Ordered to Pay $56.8 Million Over Missed Skin Cancer Diagnosis

A Fulton County jury found dermatologist Joseph Payne and his practice liable for missing a recurrence of skin cancer in Tony Waldrop, a Vietnam veteran, after Payne discarded tissue from a 2013 lesion without ordering a biopsy. The cancer went undiagnosed for roughly eight months and required extensive facial surgery that left Waldrop permanently disfigured. In December 2025, on the case's third trial, the jury awarded $32 million to Waldrop's estate and $16 million to his widow, for a combined $48 million. State Court Judge Eric Richardson added $8.8 million in pre-judgment interest, bringing the total judgment to $56.8 million. Waldrop died in 2022, before the case reached its final resolution.

After trial: Defense counsel said after the verdict that the defense would seek post-judgment relief, without specifying a new trial motion, remittitur or appeal. No notice of appeal or appellate ruling has been reported. See more

Autoliv Settles $127 Million Seatbelt Defect Judgment for $56 Million After Abandoning Its Appeal

On April 12, 2013, Micah Andrews, 38, died on Interstate 575 north of Atlanta when he swerved to miss a snapping turtle in the road, ran off the shoulder into trees at about 35 miles an hour, and was killed inside a crash he should have survived: his airbag did not deploy and his Autoliv designed seatbelt spooled out about 20 inches of webbing, letting his face hit the steering wheel hub hard enough to fracture the base of his skull. His widow, Jamie Andrews, sued Autoliv and Mazda in 2014, Mazda settled its own part of the case confidentially in June 2016, and Jim Butler of Butler Prather LLP tried the case with co counsel to a bench verdict before U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones, who found the seatbelt defectively designed and entered a $127,019,343.40 judgment at the end of December 2021, including $100 million in punitive damages. Autoliv appealed to the Eleventh Circuit, arguing the punitive award was excessive under Georgia law, then abandoned that appeal and paid $56 million to close the case on July 27, 2023, of which $42 million went to Jamie Andrews and $14 million went to the State of Georgia, which had claimed a share of the punitive award.

After trial: Settled and paid. Autoliv appealed to the Eleventh Circuit in November 2022 but abandoned its appeal on July 27, 2023 and paid $56 million to settle: $42 million to Jamie Andrews and $14 million to the State of Georgia. See more

$47.7 Million Verdict Against Ford Over Defective Seat Latch That Paralyzed a Six-Year-Old

A Fulton County jury awarded $47.7 million after a defective rear seat latch in a 2000 Lincoln LS collapsed during a crash, severing a six-year-old girl's thoracic spinal cord and leaving her paralyzed.

Sleep-Deprived Truck Driver's Highway Swerve Leads to $47 Million Wrongful Death Verdict

A Schneider National Carriers truck driver who had gone roughly 22 hours without consistent sleep swerved across multiple lanes of Interstate 285 in Atlanta before dawn on August 17, 2017, forcing a pickup into the left lane and onto the emergency lane, where it struck and killed Jarvis Nance Sr., a 35-year-old owner-operator standing beside his own disabled tractor. Nance's widow sued Schneider and the driver in Cherokee County State Court, and on June 7, 2024, after a five-day trial, the jury awarded $47 million in compensatory damages and assigned 100 percent of the fault to the defendants. Schneider has appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which heard oral argument in June 2026 on a cross-examination ruling, the jury instructions, and closing argument conduct. No decision has issued.

After trial: On appeal. Schneider National Carriers appealed, and the Georgia Court of Appeals heard oral argument the week of June 5, 2026. See more

$43.5 Million Verdict Against Nursing Home Operator Whose Neglect Killed an 80-Year-Old Resident

A Floyd County jury awarded $43.5 million to the family of Morris Ellison, an 80-year-old man who suffered malnourishment, severe dehydration, and an untreated broken hip before dying at a Rome, Georgia nursing home whose operator had diverted Medicare and Medicaid funds from patient care.

$40 Million Settlement After GDOT and Contractors Left a Broken I-85 Guardrail Unrepaired for Months

Jeb Butler and Matt Kahn, alongside co-counsel, secured a $40 million settlement against GDOT, a fence contractor, and a construction management firm after a guardrail left in disrepair for months on I-85 contributed to the death of Catrice Hunter.

$40 Million Verdict in Jeep Rear Gas-Tank Fire That Killed Four-Year-Old Remington Walden

Jeb Butler co-tried the first Jeep rear-fuel-tank wrongful-death case to a Georgia jury, which returned a $150 million verdict in 2015 later affirmed at $40 million by the Georgia Supreme Court in 2018.

$40 Million Verdict Against Ford After 'False Park' Defect Left Georgia Woman Paraplegic

A DeKalb County jury awarded $40 million to Jessica Mundy and her husband after her 2004 Ford Explorer spontaneously shifted from park into reverse, striking and running over her, after the trial team showed Ford had known about the 'false park' transmission defect for decades.

$33.5 Million Georgia Medical Malpractice Verdict

A Bibb County jury awarded $33,465,176 in July 2024 after finding that physicians affiliated with an OB-GYN practice in Macon, Georgia failed to diagnose and treat a bowel perforation that occurred during April Clark's May 2019 ovarian cyst surgery, a failure the family said led to her death that June. The trial court later cut the wrongful death portion of the verdict from $29,250,000 to $350,000 under Georgia's medical malpractice damages cap. On June 16, 2026, the Georgia Supreme Court vacated that reduction, holding the cap cannot apply to a verdict that includes pain and suffering damages protected by the state's constitutional right to a jury trial, which restored the verdict to its full $33,465,176. The Court also sent the case back to the trial court to decide one argument from the defendants' motion for a new trial that the trial court had never reached, so the case is not over.

After trial: On appeal. The Georgia Supreme Court decided on June 16, 2026 that the noneconomic damages cap cannot be applied to this verdict, vacated the judgment and remanded. See more

$32.55 Million Verdict Against City of Milton After Yale Student Dies Striking Planter on Road Shoulder

A Fulton County jury awarded $35 million to the family of Joshua Chang, a 21-year-old Yale student killed when his car struck a concrete planter on the shoulder of Batesville Road, finding the City of Milton 93% responsible for leaving a dangerous obstacle in the right-of-way.

After trial: The jury awarded $35 million and put 7 percent of the fault on Chang, which leaves about $32.55 million. In March 2026 the Georgia Supreme Court vacated the Court of Appeals' affirmance and sent the case back on whether the city's immunity was waived, so the result is not final.