Why Do We Recommend Personal Liability Umbrellas?? Read This!
Distracted driving or intoxicated driving is potentially
damaging. In this Williamson County case
that was settled a few weeks ago, a jury awarded a record-breaking amount in
damages to the victim of a hit-and-run in Brentwood that left permanent damage.
Jennifer Carman,
who was hit while running on Edmonson Pike in March 2017, and her husband
were awarded $13.6 million in compensatory damages and another $5 million
in punitive damages by a jury on March 27.
Since the
Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts started publicly tracking damages
in personal injury cases in 2000, Williamson County juries have awarded less
than $10 million in the total number of cases over nearly two decades.
On average,
that’s about $550,000 in damages awarded annually in personal injury
cases. That’s just in cases that go to trial.
In this case, the jury determined that Joshua Kellon, who struck Carman
with his pickup truck, and his mother, Dayne Kellon, carried 60 percent and 40
percent of responsibility in the accident, respectively.
The case
Carman was
jogging on the shoulder of Edmonson Pike more than two years ago when she was
struck from the front by a Dodge Ram pickup truck driven by
Kellon, according to an amended lawsuit filed in February 2018.
Kellon allegedly
fled from the scene, and police later arrested him at his mother’s house in
Brentwood. His truck was at the scene with damage from the collision.
A toxicology
report on Kellon’s blood sample the day of the accident tested positive for
alprazolam (Xanax) and opiates. The blood results were entered into the
court record as evidence.
Kellon’s
attorney, Lance Mayes, said Kellon had a prescription from his doctor for the
alprazolam.
Carman suffered
severe injuries, including multiple facial fractures, leg and ankle fractures
and broken bones in both hands. Her thumb needed to be amputated.
According to
Brandon Bass, the attorney for the Carman’s, Ms. Carman also lost her right eye
as a result.
In addition to
thousands of dollars in medical costs, Carman also lost earnings she would have
received as a medical doctor.
Kellon pleaded
guilty to one count of vehicular assault, a Class D felony, and was sentenced
to four years in prison. Two related charges were dismissed.
Damage to Joshua Kellon’s pickup truck after he struck Jennifer Carman while she was jogging on the shoulder of Edmonson Pike in Brentwood in 2017.
Mother also
found responsible
While Kellon had
a list of previous charges for driving while intoxicated and other drug
charges, the Carmans’ attorneys sought to also hold Dayne
Kellon partially responsible in the accident.
Kellon lived with
his mother and claimed to run a landscaping business from her house, but
reported less than $10,000 in personal and business income in 2016. The truck
he drove that hit Carman was in his name but required monthly loan payments of
$450 between 2014 and 2020.
Dayne Kellon’s
financial support of her son, Bass argued, enabled him to maintain and operate
the pickup truck he drove at the time of the accident.
“His mother
made sure he had a pickup to drive to go wherever he wanted, however,
whenever,” Bass said, adding that she made the loan payment on it
periodically. “If she didn’t do that, it would’ve been
repossessed.”
Lance Mayes, who
represented the Kellons in the case, said they “feel like it’s an unjust
ruling” and plan to appeal the jury’s decision regarding the mother’s
responsibility in the accident.
“He accepted
responsibility for it, and his mother wasn’t even in the state of Tennessee at
the time of the accident,” Mayes said.
While
Kellon may spend the next few years in prison, he would be required
to pay damages to the Carmans for the rest of his life, “to whatever
extent we can force him to pay,” Bass said, but conceded it’s
“extraordinarily unlikely” he’ll ever pay the full amount.
Liability
exposure is real! We see the lawyer ads
on television and many thinks that ‘this could never happen to me!’ Hopefully it won’t. But if you’re caught with an attorney’s
office issuing you a subpoena for some type of accident you are involved in, we
want our clients to know they can have extended liability protection to PROTECT
their hard earned assets. When $1Million
of additional liability coverage costs approximately $250 per year, it’s one of
the least expensive protection offers we have. Should you consider it?
If we can answer liability
questions or any other insurance related subjects, please let us know. We’re easy to reach! EMAIL us at info@BentonWhite.net or TEXT or CALL us at 615.377.1212. We are ready to earn your business!
Portions of
this article came from THE TENNESSEAN – written by Elaina Sauber