Jury Awards Less Than Amount Offered at Mediation in Tractor Rollover Case

Shannon Harris, et al. v. Adam Harris, et al., Superior Court of Barrow County, Civil Action No. 15-CV-001163

In September, 2017, Lee Pruett tried a case before a Barrow County jury and, along with Co-Counsel Bill Cowsert of Cowsert Heath in Athens, obtained a verdict in an amount which was more than $10,000 less than their client’s last offer at mediation one month prior.  The case, Harris v. Harris, involved a tractor rollover in which the Plaintiffs’ nine-year-old son sustained lacerations and multiple facial fractures. Defendant Adam Harris, the boy’s uncle, allowed the boy to drive the tractor as they tried to remove a dead tree stump, and he admitted liability for the accident. Thus, the case went to the jury solely on the issue of damages. The Defendant conceded all of the incurred medical expenses but disputed future medicals and the Plaintiffs’ contention that the injuries had caused a change in their son’s personality. In closing, the Plaintiffs’ attorney asked for $1.5 million. The jury returned a verdict for $170,614.