Verdicts & Settlements

Desi V. Tobias

Successful Verdicts and Settlements

Personal Injury

• A $12,300,000 settlement for a maritime injury.
• A $12,000,000 bench verdict in an industrial accident.
• A $3,400,000 award for a man blinded in a crane accident.
• A jury verdict of $1,600,000 in a case against a repossession agent who poured dishwashing liquid on a carport in order to assist in repossessing the car. The plaintiff later went onto the carport and slipped on the dishwashing liquid, thereby injuring his back.
• A $1,176,530.29 verdict in a car wreck case.
• A $940,000 wrongful death settlement arising from highway conditions.
• A settlement of $860,000 in a premises liability action where the plaintiff suffered a brain injury after being struck on the head by a falling object.
• A settlement of $520,000 for a man injured in an industrial accident.
• A settlement of $500,000 in a trip and fall case, which occurred in a parking lot.
• A settlement of $400,000 in a slip and fall case involving a recently mopped floor.
• A settlement of $325,000 for a man who suffered damage because of fraud committed by a title company. A jury verdict of $160,000.00 in a case tried in Marion County (Ocala), Florida. In this case, a forklift knocked a load of steel onto the plaintiff’s leg, thereby causing a blood clot. The medical specials were less than $10,000.00 and the plaintiff received a 2% impairment rating to the lower extremity.
• A $250,000 verdict in a car wreck case in Baldwin County, Alabama.
• A bench verdict of $200,000 in punitive damages and $165,000.00 in compensatory damages in a case arising from the wrongful termination of an employee in retaliation for a work injury.

Wrongful Death

• Settlement: $625,000 for a man killed in a work place accident.
• Settlement: $600,000 in a wrongful death action arising from a fall occurring at an industrial plant.
• Settlement: $450,000 in a wrongful death action arising from a shooting death at an apartment complex.

Defective Products

• Settlement: $7,000,000 dollars in a product liability action brought against the manufacturer of a product which malfunctioned and caused a fire, thereby injuring an entire family.
• Jury Verdict: $3,400,000 in a defective product industrial accident case (Williams v. Manitowoc Cranes, LLC).
• Settlement: $2,500,000 in a defective product case arising from a mower rollover.
• Settlement: $2,350,000 in a wrongful death case arising from an industrial accident.
• Settlement: $875,000 in a products liability action brought on behalf of a small child who sustained a partial amputation of his a finger when a vending machine caused an electrocution shock.
• Settlement: $850,000 on behalf of a man injured when his hand was caught in a roller.
• Settlement: $625,000 on behalf of a man who was injured in a fall from a roof.

Automobile / Trucking Accidents

• A jury verdict of $5,000,000 dollars against an underinsured motorist carrier arising out of a traffic accident.
• A jury verdict of $1,800,000 dollars in a case arising from a truck accident which occurred in a parking lot. The plaintiff’s injuries were soft tissue injuries with medical specials less than $10,000.00.
• Settlement: $1,000,000 dollars in a case arising from a trucking accident on I-65. The plaintiff sustained several broken bones in his left leg with medical specials of $100,000.00.
• Settlement: $1,000,000 dollars in a case arising from a trucking accident on I-65. The plaintiff sustained a back injury.
• Settlement: $750,000 in a trucking accident which occurred in New York state.

Alcohol - Related Injuries

• A jury verdict in the amount of $2,800,000 dollars in a dram shop case against a local bar.
• Settlement: $2,000,000 dollars in a wrongful death dram shop case against a local retailer who sold alcohol to a minor who was subsequently fatally injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Reported Decisions 

Williams v. Manitowoc Cranes, LLC, 898 F.3d 607 (5th Circuit 2018).

The 5th Circuit affirmed a $3.4 million verdict against a crane manufacturer in a product liability failure to warn case.

Thrash v. Credit Acceptance Corp, 821 So.2d 968 (Ala. 2001).

The Alabama Supreme Court reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of a finance company in a case arising from the wrongful repossession of a vehicle involving the use of dishwashing liquid. The plaintiff slipped in dishwashing liquid used by the repossession agent and sustained a back injury. The Supreme Court reversed summary judgment in favor of the finance company on the basis that there was sufficient evidence of an agency relationship between the finance company and the repossession agent. The Thrash court also held that the finance company had a non-delegable duty to not breach the peace when repossessing the collateral. The Thrash opinion broadly holds that agency questions usually present an issue of fact.Ex parte Kraatz, 775 So.2d 801 (Ala. 2000).

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of a service station owner in a case where the plaintiff tripped over an unpainted speed bump in a dimly lit parking lot. The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirmed the judgment. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed the lower courts and held that the partial or poor light provided by the premises owner created a question of fact which allowed the case to go to the jury.Ex parte Brislin, 719 So.2d 185 (Ala. 1998).

The plaintiff in this action brought a fraud claim against a business broker arising out of representations made by the broker when selling a retail clothing store to the plaintiffs. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the business broker and the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals affirmed. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed summary judgment and held that fact questions precluded summary judgment on the issues of intentional, reckless, and innocent fraud, deceit, negligence and fraudulent suppression. Subsequently, the Firm tried the case and received a verdict in favor of the plaintiff on the intentional fraud claims.Callaway v. Whittenton, 892 So.2d 852 (Ala. 2004).

The Alabama Supreme Court reversed a grant of directed verdict in favor of a repossession agent on the issue of whether the repossession agent breached the peace when repossessing a vehicle.McDaniel V. Helmerich Payne, 61 So.3d 1091 (Ala.Civ.App. 2010).

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer in a worker compensation case.Hornady Transportation, LLC v. Fluellen, 116 So.3d 236 (Ala.Civ.App. 2012).

Affirmed a trial court judgment awarding a widow worker compensation death benefits. The appellate court further held that admission by the plaintiff of an EMS report was not erroneous because it fell within the hearsay rule exception for a medical diagnosis.McDaniel v. Helmerich Payne, 112 So.3d 41 (Ala.Civ.App. 2012).

Successful appeal of an adverse trial court judgment in a worker compensation case. The appellate court reversed the trial court on the basis that the severely injured plaintiff was a “traveling” employee entitled to worker compensation benefits as a matter of law and not subject to the going and coming rule.

Bryan E. Comer

Successful Verdicts & Settlements

• Settlement: $12,300,000 in burn case.
• Verdict: $7,000,000 jury verdict for the sexual assault of a mentally incapacitated young man at AltaPointe Health System.
• Settlement: $4,600,000 in industrial accident case.
• Verdict: $3,400,000 in a defective product industrial accident case (Williams v. Manitowoc Cranes, LLC, 898 F.3d 607 (5th Cir. 2018)).
  • Bryan Comer argues before the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in Wanda Williams v. Manitowoc Cranes, LLC, May 1, 2018.
• Verdict: $1,176,530.29 in a car wreck case.
• Settlement: $867,500 in a wrongful death case involving a semi-truck in Montgomery County, Alabama.
• Settlement: $860,000 in a premises liability action where the Plaintiff suffered a brain injury after being struck by a falling object.
• Verdict: $800,000 in a corporate fraud case.
• Verdict: $450,000 in a car wreck case in Baldwin County, Alabama.
• Settlement: $400,000 in a slip and fall action.
• Verdict: $378,000 in a motor vehicle collision with an underinsured driver. Attorney Bryan Comer tried a successful case (Hilliard v. State Farm) with a jury verdict of $378,000 for our client in Mobile County Circuit Court. Our client was seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision with an underinsured driver. The plaintiff had State Farm UM coverage for this very reason. The other driver's insurance wasn't sufficient to pay the damages owed, so State Farm was required to pay the difference. The purpose of underinsured motorist coverage is to cover a person for injuries and damages caused by someone who doesn't have enough insurance. Mr. Hilliard had to file a lawsuit against State Farm to force it to pay the underinsured motorist benefits - even though he had paid their premiums for years.
• Verdict: $250,000 in a car wreck case in Baldwin County, Alabama.
• Settlement: $130,000 in a premises liability/slip and fall action.