A Henry County Superior Court jury awarded Nita King $92,918.01 as a result of injuries she and her son received in a 2002 automobile accident with Olin Wayne Davis.
McDonough, GA—It took Nita King over 12 and one half-years following her automobile accident with Olin Wayne Davis to get her case heard by a Henry County Superior Court jury. It took that jury less than two hours to award King over $90,000 in damages for injuries she and her two-year-old-son suffered in the collision. Nita King v. Olin Wayne Davis (DECEASED) 2008-SU-CV-3386.
The total verdict King received was $92,918.01. The jury awarded her $85,567.21 for her own damages resulting from the accident. They also awarded her an additional $7,350.80 as guardian of her son, Diamond King, as a result of his injuries.
According to attorneys’ statements and evidence presented in the case, on July 18, 2002, Davis was driving a Dodge Ram truck, when he pulled out of a line of traffic and ran a red light. King, whose son was in the back seat of her Ford Tempo, was unable to react and collided with Davis’ truck in the intersection.
Attorneys for Davis, who died after this lawsuit was filed of causes unrelated to the collision, admitted liability for the accident, and the main issue before the jury was the amount of damages King and her son suffered. She testified that both she and her son received medical treatment from various doctors shortly after the accident and that she had periodically received further treatment over the years because she remained in pain. King also showed the jury her still-noticeable facial scars and indented skull she said were caused by the accident.
King also alleged she suffered memory loss and depression as a result of the accident. When asked by her attorney Graylin Ward to describe her mental state, King said: “I just can’t remember and I get upset when I can’t remember… It really upsets me when I’m trying to have a conversation and sometimes I can’t get the words out… I just can’t talk the way I want to talk and then I get upset about it…I find myself getting depressed and I sometimes go in my room … and can’t stand a lot of people [around].”
In her opening argument, defense attorney Josanne Celestine noted that King had been involved in three other auto accidents since the 2002 accident with Davis. According to Celestine, King had hit a deer in November, 2003, and had been involved in collisions with other drivers in 2010 and 2012. In each accident, King received treatment for injuries to her back, knee, and neck that were similar to those suffered in the collision with Davis’ truck. The defense questioned the extent to which King’s current condition and more recent treatment resulted from the 2002 accident as opposed to subsequent events.
During her testimony, King acknowledged receiving treatment for injuries received in the other three accidents. However, she said that each subsequent accident actually aggravated her earlier injuries.
Attorneys for both parties in this case were unavailable for comment.
Related information:
Attorneys involved in the case include Graylin Ward, representing Nita King, and Adrian Britt and Josanne Celestine for the defense.
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