$5,470,000 Jury Verdict – Construction Site Dump Truck Accident
Mack Pitts was killed in a tragic runover truck accident at an airport construction site in Atlanta that was entirely preventable. Shiver Hamilton Campbell’s mission is help the families of people like Mack, who have suffered due to the negligence of others.
Mack worked as a spotter on the construction of the international terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The project he was working on, completed in 2006, added a fifth, longer runway primarily for international flights, and cost $1.28 million. It was a massive undertaking involving multiple stakeholders, construction general contractors, many dump truck vendors, and the city of Atlanta. The new runway extends over I-285 on the southern side of Atlanta. Hundreds of planes use it to take off and land daily.
Fatal Construction Site Trucking Accident
Mack played a critical role in the day-to-day operations of the airport project. He worked for a general contractor excavating and grading the ground at the construction site for the fifth runway. His job involved holding flags and directing the dump trucks bringing in dirt for the new runway. The dump truck vendors were paid by the load. There was often a line of trucks waiting to off-load their dirt. It created a tense situation, with drivers in a hurry to offload and complete as many deliveries as possible.
Trucks on large construction sites must follow certain safety regulations and are not allowed to back up without a spotter’s signal.
On the day of the fatal construction site accident, one truck driver with A&G Trucking did not want to wait. She ignored this critically important safety regulations, cut in line and killed Mack in a fatal runover truck accident as he was turning and waving to get her attention.
Settling vs. Going to Trial in a Wrongful Death Claim
The wrongful death lawyers of Shiver Hamilton Campbell are always prepared to go to trial. They work to hold negligent insurance companies and corporate defendants accountable and fight for the compensation their clients are entitled to.
Shiver Hamilton Campbell represented the estate of Mack Pitts, including several minor children, in a wrongful death civil suit against A&G Trucking. Even though contractors involved in the project were required to carry $10 million of insurance coverage, A&G Trucking carried only $1 million.
The trucking company offered a settlement to avoid a trial, but the attorneys of Shiver Hamilton Campbell were confident they could achieve a significantly better result for Mack’s estate at trial. Despite the prospect of a significant financial settlement, Mack’s family agreed to stay the course and allowed Shiver Hamilton Campbell to litigate the case. Shiver Hamilton Campbell sought recovery from the city of Atlanta as well as the joint venture of contracting companies that had run the airport construction project since they negligently allowed A&G Trucking to work without adequate insurance.
The defense argued that Mack was negligent as well as their driver, which would have greatly reduced the amount of any verdict. Shiver Hamilton Campbell’s investigative team, though, was able to clearly demonstrate that this was false. Witnesses to the construction site trucking accident testified at trial that multiple drivers in the line honked at A&G’s truck driver, that Mack was wearing the proper safety attire, and was clearly visible. Mack was just doing his job and not behaving negligently. Sadly, testimony at trial also indicated that the driver was driving distractedly immediately before her truck hit Mack and giving an obscene gesture to another truck driver.
How a Construction Site Accident Attorney Could Help Families of Victims
The skilled Atlanta attorneys of Shiver Hamilton Campbell strive to put grieving families, like the Pitts, on even ground with negligent big businesses and insurance companies in fatal construction site cases. Insurance companies representing firms after fatal runover truck accidents are fierce adversaries to the victim’s family. To protect themselves and their liability, they immediately and aggressively begin gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and seek to build a defense. Shiver Hamilton Campbell recognizes that families of people who have died in construction site accidents in Atlanta need fierce allies during the legal process to protect their rights while they are trying to work through their loss.
Shiver Hamilton Campbell brings sympathetic dedication to every wrongful death case. They do whatever is necessary to make sure the families of Atlanta victims receive the justice they need and deserve. They do not settle a case until the families receive the compensation they need to recover from their financial and emotional loss. Clients often need guidance across a range of difficulties beyond their case. The skilled attorneys at Shiver Hamilton Campbell understand their clients deserve support and justice.
Results For the Families of Fatal Construction Accident Victims in Atlanta
The jury returned a wrongful death verdict of $5.47 million for Mack’s estate and children. The compensation was structured to provide educational funds and assure financial stability into adulthood for all his children. This verdict sent a powerful message to insurance companies and construction firms to do right by their employees, not to cut corners, and to provide safe working environments.
Mack’s family trusted Shiver Hamilton Campbell to achieve the best outcome for their wrongful death case. They trusted their attorneys in doing what is right, turning down settlements, and seeing the case all the way to trial.
