The Tennessee appellate decision finalized the outcome of a lawsuit against driver Bryant Johnson and employer Serra Chevrolet LLC following a January 2022 collision. Jurors assigned full liability to the defendants after weighing opposing medical expert opinions on the severity of the plaintiff's shoulder condition. The ruling confirms compensation because rehabilitation assessments showed the delivery worker faces an estimated annual wage loss of $74,000 to $84,000 if forced to stop driving.
Key points
Defendants Bryant Johnson and Serra Chevrolet LLC were found fully liable for the January…: Defendants Bryant Johnson and Serra Chevrolet LLC were found fully liable for the January 2022 rear-end collision by a jury.
Continuing to work at standard wages does not preclude an injured plaintiff from receivin…: Continuing to work at standard wages does not preclude an injured plaintiff from receiving damages for impaired future earning capacity.
The appellate court ruled jurors had the proper legal authority to credit the treating su…: The appellate court ruled jurors had the proper legal authority to credit the treating surgeon's testimony over the defense expert's opinion.
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A Tennessee appeals court has upheld a $575,000 compensation award to a UPS driver injured in a 2022 collision. The court ruled on November 9 that the evidence supported the jury's findings that the crash caused permanent shoulder damage and affected the driver's future earning capacity.
The case involved Randy Gooden, whose vehicle was hit from behind by Bryant Johnson on January 13, 2022. Johnson worked for Serra Chevrolet LLC. Gooden sued both, seeking $1.5 million in damages.
According to the
judgement, Gooden returned to his UPS delivery job but said shoulder pain made his work difficult. He sometimes needed customers to help him complete his duties and was unsure whether he could continue working until the age of 52 or 53, as he had planned.
A jury found Johnson and Serra Chevrolet fully responsible for the accident and awarded Gooden $575,000 after a trial in February 2025. The defendants challenged the verdict, but the trial court rejected their request to overturn or reduce it. They then appealed.
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