Defense Verdict for GDOT in South Georgia Smoke and Fog Case

Salem v. The Georgia Department of Transportation; Superior Court of Wayne County
Civil Action File No. 06CV0271
Defense Verdict:  June, 2016

In Salem v. The Georgia Department of Transportation, the Plaintiff sued for a catastrophic brain injury he sustained in an automobile collision that occurred just outside of Jesup, Georgia. Specifically, Plaintiff contended that the DOT and its employees breached their duty of care by failing to follow the DOT’s own policies and procedures detailing the specific protocol to follow when a smoke and/or fog hazard existed on a state highway.  In response, Levy Pruett Cullen successfully argued that DOT properly responded to the smoke/fog on the roadway and that the crash was caused by the negligence of the drivers.

On June 24, 2016, after a five-day trial, the jury returned a defense verdict. The Plaintiff appealed the issue of whether summary judgment was properly granted to one of the GDOT individual Defendants.  The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision on April 17, 2018, and the defense verdict stands.