Brooks Injury Law Wins $1.64 Million Verdict for Client with Surgical Back Injury
Brooks Injury Law obtained a $1.64 million verdict on June 12, 2024 after a three-day trial in the State Court of Bibb County. Brooks Injury Law attorneys Ian Rapaport, William Fowler, Meredith Watts, and Natanya Brooks represented Plaintiff Earnest Woody in the lawsuit against Defendant Cruz Construction, LLC, who was represented by Bruce Hedrick of Hedrick Law.
Brooks Injury Law filed the lawsuit on behalf of Earnest Woody in 2020 for an injury Mr. Woody sustained in 2018 when he stepped into an improperly filled hole on his property. The hole was dug by Cruz Construction, LLC when it was laying AT&T fiber cable on Mr. Woody’s property in 2018. Cruz failed to properly fill in and compact the hole, and Mr. Woody stepped into the hole as he was unloading a case of water from his car. Mr. Woody had two back surgeries as a result of the fall.
“This was an amazing client who had a terrible injury and had to wait almost six years (four in litigation) to have a jury recognize what he has been through,” said Brooks Injury Law founder Natanya Brooks. “The jury validated our client and his pain and suffering through its verdict.”
In the three years leading up to trial, no offers were extended by Cruz Construction’s insurer, State Farm, to Mr. Woody to settle his claims. The jury returned the $1.64 million verdict after approximately 30 minutes of deliberation.
Partner Ian Rapaport, who, along with Associate Will Fowler, tried the case added, “The fact that the jury took only about 30 minutes to deliberate is a clear indication that the jurors saw through the smoke and mirrors defense offered by State Farm.” Fowler added, “At any point over the last 6 years, if State Farm had extended a reasonable offer, this case would have settled without the need for extensive litigation.”
“This is a clear case of an insurance company’s failure to take responsibility for its insured’s negligence,” said Brooks Injury Law Partner Meredith Watts. “Liability was clear, yet State Farm chose to fight it.”
