Top West Virginia Personal Injury Verdicts and Settlements

$16.9 Million Verdict for Shopper Injured by Fleeing Shoplifter at Wal-Mart

Johna Ankrom, 52, was shopping with her granddaughter when Wal-Mart employees detained a shoplifter in the vestibule's main traffic aisle. He broke away, collided with her cart and pulled it down on top of her. She suffered traumatic intestinal injuries, went through multiple surgeries, and now lives with a permanent ileostomy.

After trial: The jury put 30 percent of the fault on Wal-Mart and 70 percent on the shoplifter, and the court entered separate judgments of $5,076,600 against Wal-Mart and $11,845,400 against him, which the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed on November 18, 2020. The shoplifter's share is unlikely to be collected.

$15 Million Verdict for Widow of Worker Killed When a Bleach Dryer Exploded Like Two Tons of TNT

John Mark Gillenwater, 42, was working the first runs of a new process to dry a chlorinated bleach compound at the Optima Belle plant in the Kanawha Valley. The dryer exploded with a force experts likened to two tons of TNT. A jury found the process should never have been run as designed and awarded his widow $15 million.

After trial: The jury returned $15,000,000 on May 2, 2024 ($10,000,000 wrongful death, $5,000,000 conscious pain and suffering), with fault split 70 percent to Clearon and 30 percent to Optima Belle. No reversal, reduction or appeal has been reported. See more

$10.8 Million Verdict for Child With Cerebral Palsy After Oxygen Deprivation at Birth

A federal jury in West Virginia awarded $10.8 million to a child and her parents after finding that hospital staff failed to prevent oxygen deprivation during delivery, causing permanent cerebral palsy.

$7 Million Verdict for Tanker Driver Killed in AEP Plant Hydrogen Explosion, With $5 Million Punitive

Lewis Timmons, 61, was transferring hydrogen from his tanker into the storage system at the Muskingum River power plant when the storage area exploded and killed him. The enclosure had a defective roof and undersized copper relief stacks that could not vent a release, and an earlier hydrogen explosion at an AEP facility had already produced safety recommendations the company never acted on.

After trial: The jury returned the verdict on August 29, 2011, and judgment was entered with attorney fees. No appellate decision, remittitur or post-trial reduction has been reported. See more

$5.42 Million Verdict for Worker Who Lost a Leg When Forklift Reversed and Dragged Pipe Onto His Foot

Richard Edwards Jr. was loading lengths of metal pipe onto his truck when the forklift operator reversed without warning, dragging the pipe off the bed and onto his foot. His right leg was amputated below the knee. The jury held both trucking companies liable, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed every dollar.

After trial: Affirmed in full. The jury returned $5,415,811 on August 14, 2018, and the Fourth Circuit affirmed on June 26, 2020 (No. See more

$4.5 Million Settlement for 14-Year-Old Killed Behind an Overloaded, Underlit Flatbed on Interstate 79

A 14-year-old high school freshman was riding home from a soccer match with her father on Interstate 79 when their vehicle struck the rear of a flatbed semi hauling lumber uphill at 21 mph in the dark. The plaintiffs' case was that the truck should never have been on that road: overloaded by more than 11,000 pounds, inadequately lit, and driven by a man not properly licensed for it.

After trial: Settled and court-approved; final. The $4,500,000 is split $3,000,000 from Quality Woods, Inc. and $1,500,000 from Allegheny Wood Products, Inc. See more

First Federal Pelvic Mesh Bellwether: $3.27 Million Verdict for Jo Huskey Against Ethicon

A West Virginia federal jury awarded Jo Huskey $3.27 million after finding Ethicon's TVT-O pelvic mesh sling defective, making it the first federal bellwether verdict in the massive Ethicon MDL.

$3 Million Settlement After Interstate Rear-End Crash Ejects Stranded Driver

A 22-year-old worker creeping along a West Virginia interstate on a flat tire was rear-ended and thrown from his vehicle, and Marks & Harrison resolved the case for $3 million.

Run Over Beside His Stalled Car: A $3 Million Settlement

DeMayo Law attorneys Elizabeth G. Grimes and Michael A. DeMayo won a $3 million settlement for an elderly North Carolina man who was run over by another vehicle while standing beside his disabled car on a West Virginia roadside.

$2.17 Million Verdict for Man Left in Chronic Pain After Vasectomy Nerve Injury

A Berkeley County, West Virginia jury found Dr. Aurelio Benavides negligent in a 1994 vasectomy that left Kent Gerver in chronic groin pain, and awarded him $2,118,431.11 plus $50,000 to his wife for loss of consortium. Months later the trial judge ordered a new trial, citing surveillance video the defense gathered after the verdict. In December 1999 the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals restored the verdict, refused to cut the award under the state's cap on noneconomic damages, and sent the case back for judgment on it.

After trial: In December 1999 the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals reversed the order for a new trial, refused to cut the award under the state's cap on noneconomic damages, and ordered judgment entered on the verdict. Prejudgment interest of $40,623.52 was added to the judgment and does not count toward the ranked amount. See more