CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Jonathan Marko delivering his opening statement
Oakland, MI - A Michigan state court jury heard opening statements Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by a man claiming he suffered a serious brain injury after being struck by a school bus that ran a red light, and the full trial is being webcast and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff Brian Iminski sued school transport company First Student Inc. after being struck in 2024 by bus driver Kentera Jones. The company, one of the largest school bus contractors in the United States, initially denied all liability. However a pretrial ruling affirmed Jones did run a red light and that First Student was liable for the collision, leaving the Oakland County jury tasked solely with determining what amount of compensation, if any, Iminski deserves for his alleged injuries.
Iminski’s attorney, Jonathan Marko of Marko Law PLLC, told jurors his client, an "avid outdoorsman" suffered debilitating brain and back injuries that severely reduced his quality of life and had to undergo numerous costly and invasive medical procedures to treat his chronic pain. First Student maintains Iminski’s injuries from the crash aren’t nearly as severe as claimed, and that his current medical issues stem from pre-existing conditions that predate the accident.
The full trial is being webcast both live and on-demand by CVN. CVN subscribers get unlimited live and on-demand access to the full proceedings, including time-synced digital images of exhibits and demonstratives and all witness testimony. Along with this trial, CVN subscribers can also access hundreds more in the world’s only online trial video library featuring many of the top civil trial attorneys practicing today. Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a monthly or annual account today.
Marko described to jurors how Iminski was driving to work the morning of the accident when the bus driven by Jones blew through a red light, t-boned his truck and forced it into a barricade. Marko repeatedly emphasized the size and weight of the 35,000 lb bus compared to Iminski’s work pickup truck while describing the force of the impact.
“This was a very serious accident,” Marko stressed.
He detailed how Iminski emerged from the car dazed and disoriented but without any immediately apparent physical injuries, and despite his truck being totaled still traveled the short distance to his job at an HVAC company.
Marko told jurors Iminski’s co-workers were immediately alarmed by his condition, describing him as a “space cadet” who could barely walk around the office and complaining of severe head pain and nausea. He eventually went to the emergency room, where Marko said he was diagnosed with a closed head injury and acute back and neck injuries.
Iminski then followed up with his family physician, and according to to Marko, began a lengthy journey of increasingly invasive spinal treatments ultimately culminating in a fusion surgery, while also struggling with less quantifiable impacts of brain injuries such as “brain fog." Marko said those worsening physical limitations eventually cost Iminski his job at the HVAC company.
Marko repeatedly stressed that the diagnoses and testimony he would present at trial almost entirely came from Iminski’s personal doctors with no stake in the case, while suggesting the defense would build their case largely on paid experts.
“They have nothing to do with me,” Marko said, describing the doctors treating Iminski before he filed his lawsuit. “I’ve never met them. There is no lawsuit. These are just doctors who have known Brian and are trying to help him get better.”
Marko also repeatedly called into question the conduct of the defendants. He accused the bus driver of initially making a false sworn statement the light was green at the time, and he also aggressively rejected covert surveillance video taken by the defense showing Iminski walking to his front door unassisted and mowing the lawn.
“The video doesn’t show you Brian had to get a new mower that moved itself because he kept falling down,” Marko retorted. “The video doesn’t show you his physical therapist told him he should try to mow the lawn.”
Representing the defense, attorney Kevin Plagens of Quintairos Prieto Wood & Boyer PA argued that despite the adverse liability finding there was no causal relationship between the accident and Iminski’s injuries.
Plagens walked jurors through Iminski’s prior medical history, which included a previous car accident with ensuing back problems. With the circumstances of the actual accident largely irrelevant in the damages trial, Plagens devoted nearly his entire opening statement to a detailed timeline of Iminski’s medical treatment before and after the accident, and to previewing the extensive expert testimony he said would support his arguments.
“The plaintiff had significant issues involving these alleged complaints prior to March 8, 2024,” he said.
Plagens suggested that if the jury determined Iminski’s current injuries resulted from the crash that they should limit any total award to between $350,000 and $500,000.
“This case is about an accident, not an opportunity,” Plagens stated bluntly.
The trial is taking place before Judge Jacob Cunningham, and CVN’s gavel-to-gavel coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com