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Lawrenceville, GA— Jurors Thursday handed down a $16.2 million verdict at trial against Amazon Logistics and a service partner over the injuries a Georgia child suffered when he was run over by a delivery van. Bradfield v. Amazon Logistics, et al., 22-C-07003-S7.
The Gwinnett County (Georgia) State Court jury apportioned 85% of responsibility to Amazon, on a negligent training claim, and 10% to Fly Fella Logistics delivery driver Jowann Cowan for the 2022 collision that severely injured the child's leg. Notably, jurors also concluded that Amazon exercised sufficient control over defendant Fly Fella to render the delivery giant liable for Cowan's share of fault, as his employer.
The verdict wraps the first case in Georgia, and one of the first in the nation, to go to trial over whether Amazon is responsible as an employer for the conduct of its delivery partners’ drivers, according to Fried Goldberg’s Joseph Fried. The firm's Michael Goldberg and Fried represented the child’s father in the case.
Jurors also apportioned 5% of responsibility for the crash to a non-party neighbor who had agreed to watch the child, which will reduce the ultimate award proportionately.
The crash occurred as the boy was crossing a neighborhood street on an electric bike, and Cowan was pulling away from a stop he made to allow other children to cross. The van struck and ultimately ran over the child, fracturing his pelvis and delivering a "degloving" injury that has required multiple skin grafts to treat and left him with lifelong scarring.
Thursday's verdict includes $16 million for the boy's pain and suffering and roughly $206,000 for his past medical expenses.
The four-day trial turned on Amazon’s relationship with Fly Fella as well as who ultimately bore responsibility for the collision.
During Thursday’s closings, Amazon’s attorney, Wilson Elser’s R. Dal Burton, argued that a neighbor who had agreed to watch the eight-year-old as he played at her house failed to properly supervise the child, allowing him to take and use an electric bike built for teens.
Burton told jurors that the boy's parents and the neighbor paid no heed to warnings that the bike was meant for 13-year-olds under supervision. And, he noted that the child had taken the unlocked bike from the garage after the neighbor had reentered her home, leaving a group of children to play unattended.
“If [the boy] never had a chance to ride [the bike], then the accident never happens, he can’t get into the street, he can’t get in front of the van,” Burton said. “And if the accident never happens, [the child] is never injured.”
In his closing, Hall Booth Smith’s Wayne Satterfield, representing Cowan and Fly Fella, told jurors evidence showed the delivery driver acted reasonably in pulling away from the stop.
“He allowed the children to get out of the roadway, he looked both ways, and he slowly started to accelerate, until he felt something underneath his van,” Satterfield said. “That is reasonable. He did not breach a duty.”
But Goldberg told jurors Cowan should have seen the boy with the bike. And he argued Amazon exercised control over nearly every element of Fly Fella’s operations, from driver wages through delivery procedures, rendering it liable for Cowan’s conduct.
Goldberg added that Amazon also failed to provide Cowan with proper driver-safety training before the crash, telling jurors that the company did not implement an applicable safety-training program until after the collision.
“They could have rolled that [training] out from the very beginning, and in fact they were required to. It was their responsibility to train the drivers about what to do when you encounter children,” Goldberg said. “And they didn’t do it.”
After the verdict, Goldberg complimented the defense attorneys on the case, but expressed frustration with Amazon.
“Amazon’s lawyers are good people and good lawyers. Unfortunately, Amazon itself is unbelievably difficult to deal with. They refused to mediate and made the first and only offer to us the week before trial, and gave us one day to decide to take it or not.” Goldberg told CVN in an emailed statement, adding that the child’s father rejected the offer.
“While I was doing closing arguments, Amazon made their lawyer send the same offer to us as a folded note and told us we had to accept it before closing arguments were complete,” Goldberg wrote, noting that number, which was confidential, was once again rejected.
“Our client was the rock of our team,” Goldberg told CVN, “and I am glad the jury saw it our way.”
In an emailed statement to CVN, Fried complimented Judge Jaletta Smith and her staff on their administration of the case. But he was critical of defense contentions surrounding the child's supervision.
“Amazon went after our client, [the child’s father], hard, saying that he failed to properly supervise his child. It was a ridiculously unfair attack,” Fried said. “I can't help but think this attack helped fuel the final verdict.”
CVN has reached out to attorneys for Amazon and Fly Fella and will update this article with their comments.
Email Arlin Crisco at acrisco@cvn.com.
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