September 10, 2026. GMKE Senior Associate Attorney Samantha Feinberg and Associate Attorney Bryson Lax obtained a favorable jury verdict after a three-day bifurcated trial in the State Court of DeKalb County before the Honorable Judge Mike Jacobs. In a liability dispute automobile collision case, Ms. Feinberg and Mr. Lax successfully limited the Plaintiff’s recovery to less than the last offer by the defense prior to trial. The Plaintiff sought over $1 million at trial, with alleged medical expenses of $212,000.
The negligence, causation, and damages were in dispute from the August 2020 collision. The case had been filed, dismissed, and refiled prior to going to trial for the Plaintiff to obtain a lower back surgery.
The negligence was disputed. The plaintiff was turning left into a gas station while the defendant was turning right out of a gas station. The vehicles collided in an unusual way of right front/side to right front/side damage. No airbags deployed, and the damage was minimal to moderate. There was disagreement between the parties on where in the street the collision occurred, where the vehicles were located before beginning to move, and what observations were made prior to the collision occurring. Both parties testified at trial.
The jury ultimately apportioned 39% of the liability to the plaintiff and 61% of liability to the defendant.
The causation and damages were also disputed. The plaintiff alleged a concussion with post-concussive headaches, multiple disc herniations and/or facet joint inflammation in her upper and lower back that caused her terrible pain and four years of treatment, ending in a rhizotomy in her lower back. The plaintiff’s surgeon and the defense expert disputed whether there was any evidence of facet joint inflammation on the MRI, though both were in agreement that there was no evidence of disc injury that warranted surgical intervention. The plaintiff’s medical records contained contradictions in her symptoms with different medical providers.
The jury ultimately awarded $162,000.00 to the plaintiff, which was reduced by the liability percentage to $98,820.00. This amount was less than the policy limit and less than the last offer made by the defense prior to trial.
The case is Melissa McDonald v. Ashley Lindsey, State Court of DeKalb County, CAFN 24A00072.
Click on a link to read more about Senior Associate Attorney Samantha Feinberg and Associate Attorney Bryson Lax.
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