Dorchester County Jury Holds Amazon Liable for Delivery Van Crash That Injured Motorcyclist
After trial: Amazon moved after trial to reduce the award, arguing that evidence from the driver's phone inflamed the jury; we found no ruling on that motion, no appellate opinion and no settlement. A 2026 news report still cites the $44.6 million figure.
Won by Clekis Law Firm and Yarborough Applegate Law Firm.
Shannon Shaw was riding his motorcycle in St. George, South Carolina, in September 2021 when an Amazon delivery van turned left across his path. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and orthopedic injuries that led to a cervical fusion. In December 2023 a Dorchester County jury found Amazon vicariously liable and grossly negligent and returned $44.63 million, including $30 million in punitive damages against Amazon.
What happened
On September 24, 2021, Shannon Shaw was riding his Harley-Davidson on Orangeburg Road in St. George, South Carolina, when an Amazon delivery van turned left without yielding and struck him. The van was driven by Kevin Blekicki, who worked for MJV Logistics, a delivery service partner Amazon used for last-mile routes in the area.
Shaw suffered a traumatic brain injury and a set of orthopedic injuries: a large rotator cuff tear, multiple transverse process fractures, annular bulges in the lumbar spine, and a cervical disc protrusion. He ultimately needed a cervical fusion and two permanent spinal cord stimulators.
The case went to trial in Dorchester County before Judge Maite Murphy. Amazon argued that the driver and MJV were independent contractors and that no agency relationship existed, so the company could not be held responsible for the crash. Shaw's lawyers answered with evidence of how much control Amazon exercised: the route was designed by Amazon, the van was a vehicle the company owned, and its monitoring software tracked the driver's behavior.
That monitoring record became central to the case. Amazon's own software had logged more than 90 instances of distracted driving during Blekicki's five months on the job, and phone forensics showed extremely high data usage consistent with watching video around the time of the collision. Blekicki acknowledged on the stand that he had watched videos while making deliveries.
After a four-day trial, the jury returned its verdict on December 7, 2023. It found Amazon vicariously liable and grossly negligent in supervising and retaining the driver. Compensatory damages came to $14.41 million, made up of $11.11 million in economic damages and $3.3 million in noneconomic damages. The jury added $30 million in punitive damages against Amazon, $175,000 in punitive damages against Blekicki, and $50,000 against MJV Logistics. Press accounts described it as the first verdict in the country holding Amazon responsible for injuries from one of its blue delivery vans.
Shaw was represented by David Yarborough, William Applegate and Alex Heaton of Yarborough Applegate Law Firm, with Nicholas Clekis of the Clekis Law Firm. Wilson Elser and Rogers Townsend and Thomas defended.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.South Carolina Lawyers Weekly, 'Jury returns eight-figure damage award in crash; $44.63 million verdict', Jan. 30, 2024·Archived copy
- 2.The Post and Courier, 'Jury awards $44.6M in damages in Dorchester County civil trial involving Amazon deliveries', Dec. 2023·Archived copy
- 3.The State, 'Was Amazon truck driver watching porn before motorcycle crash? Jury awarded $44.6 million', Dec. 22, 2023·Archived copy
- 4.WCIV ABC News 4, 'Dorchester Co. jury hands $44.6M verdict against Amazon after man hit by delivery van', Dec. 12, 2023·Archived copy
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