West's Jury Verdicts - Wisconsin Reports

Benefits to State Bar of Wisconsin Members	Case Highlights & Features	Publicize Your Case Results
As a service to its members, the State Bar of Wisconsin has entered into an alliance agreement with West, a Thomson Reuters business, to provide award information on Wisconsin civil jury trials, bench trials, settlements, and arbitrations. State Bar members can: Request a full case summary, free of charge Submit their own case results for online publication in Westlaw's® West's Jury Verdicts – Wisconsin Reports, free of charge Order a paid online subscription to Westlaw's® West's Jury Verdicts – Wisconsin Reports Contact West: west.juryverdicts@thomsonreuters.com or 800-689-9378 For State Bar members submitting their own results for publication, West will: Send each submitter a pdf of his/her published case as it appears online in Westlaw's® West's Jury Verdicts – Wisconsin Reports, free of charge Consider highlighting and/or featuring the case in our semi-monthly "West's Jury Verdicts" article in InsideTrack, and on this web site.	*State Bar of Wisconsin's InsideTrack* Web Site Highlights - Our attorney editors select 6 cases to highlight in the State Bar of Wisconsin's semi-monthly "InsideTrack" web site in concise one-paragaph format from the approximately 25 Wisconsin cases we publish each month in full summary format. This Web Site Case of the Month - Our attorney editors also select one case to feature in its entirety in its full summary format. dec Case of the Month September 2018** See below	Would you like West to consider featuring or highlighting your case? » Online Submission Form
		Westlaw Litigator
		Your key resource for every phase of litigation » Learn More
		Recommend Another State Bar
		Would you like West to provide similar content for another State Bar? » Contact Us

Case of the Month September 2018

Jury Awards $4.8M for Fatal MVA

Williams v. Acuity

Case Type:
Vehicle Negligence - Truck Accident
Vehicle Negligence - Disable Vehicle
Vehicle Negligence - Interstate/Freeway
Wrongful Death

Specific Liability:
Defendant failed to change lanes or slow his vehicle prior to the collision

General Injury:
Death

Jurisdiction:
State: Wisconsin
Court: Circuit Court of Wisconsin, First Judicial District, Milwaukee County.

Related Court Documents:
Plaintiffs' complaint: 2015 WL 13716227
Verdict form: 2012 WL 130781463
Petition for approval of minor settlement: 2018 WL 2222515

Case Name:
Williams, Estate of v. Acuity, A Mutual Company; N&M Transfer Co., Inc.; Chaney

Docket/File Number:
2015-CV-004322

Result Amount:
$4,865,750

Result Date:
December 14, 2017

Judge:
Mary E. Triggiano

Attorneys:
Plaintiff: Eric M. Knobloch, Gruber Law Offices L.L.C., Milwaukee, WI
Defendant: Arthur P. Simpson, Simpson & Deardorff S.C., Milwaukee, WI
Defendant: Ava V. Fay, Simpson & Deardorff S.C., Milwaukee, WI
Defendant: Julie K. Vaughn Phebus, Simpson & Deardorff S.C., Milwaukee, WI

Result Type:
Jury

Experts:
Plaintiff: Not reported
Defendant: Human Factors: Cades, David, Ph.D., Exponent, Inc., Chicago, IL

Breakdown of Award:
Compensatory Pain & Suffering: $850,000
Compensatory Other: $15,750
Total Compensatory Award: $865,750
Loss of Services: $4,000,000
Loss of Services by Minor Children: Yes

Summary of Facts:
This wrongful death action was brought when Brandon Williams, an adult male passenger in a pickup truck traveling on an interstate, sustained fatal injuries after the vehicle, operated by Demetrius Crawford, came to a stop in the right lane of traffic due to a mechanical failure, and was struck 5-10 minutes later by a semi-truck operated at 65 m.p.h. by defendant Christopher Chaney, and owned by defendant N & M Transfer Co., Inc. The plaintiff estate contended defendant Chaney failed to change lanes or slow his vehicle prior to the collision. The defendants contended Crawford failed to pull his vehicle off the road and onto the emergency distress lane, and failed to illuminate his vehicle. The jury determined defendant Chaney was 85% negligent and Crawford was 15% negligent. The decedent was survived by his four minor children. The parties reached a post-verdict compromise settlement in amount of $1,025,000.

Court: Circuit Court of Wisconsin, First Judicial District, Milwaukee County.

Westlaw Citation:
2017 WL 9808516