a plaintiff can recover “the full value of a deceased’s life” in a Georgia wrongful death suit. However, where the bulk of a damage claim is for non-economic value, or what made the lost life at the heart of a case special, the damages argument becomes more complicated. In a wrongful death case involving a 22-year-old hairstylist and mother of two, Trent Speckhals’ closing argument emphasized the importance of non-economic damages and helped deliver a hefty award. Mitchell v. The Estate of Otis South, 09A03669.

Trent Speckhals delivers his opening statement at trial over the head-on collision that killed Fatima Bird.

Decatur, GA—Jurors Wednesday awarded $5.35 million for the role a drunk driver played in the 2008 crash that killed a 22-year-old mother of two. Mitchell v. The Estate of Otis South, 09A03669.

Attorneys drew battle lines at trial over the brain trauma a nursing student suffered in a fiery tractor trailer crash. While a settlement during deliberations ultimately carried the case, Bob Cheeley's stirring closing rebuttal helped sway jurors to deliver an eight-figure verdict.  Richards v. Total Transportation of Mississippi LLC, SUV2015000174. 

In his opening statement, William Stone empties water bottles into a bucket to demonstrate what he claimed was the massive fluid overload Shannon Trabue suffered before a pulmonary edema allegedly stopped her heart. A Fulton County State Court jury awarded $45.8 million in the case. 

Atlanta—The foundation for last month’s $45.8 million verdict against an Atlanta-area obstetrics practice was built with an eye-grabbing opening and a lineup of experts that painted a vivid picture on the broader meaning behind a doctor’s standard of care,  a lawyer who spearheaded the plaintiff's case said in detailing the trial to CVN. Trabue v. Atlanta Women's Specialists, 14-EV-001821. 

William Stone delivers his closing argument at trial over the life-long brain damage Shannon Trabue suffered days after childbirth. Jurors Monday awarded Stone's clients, Trabue's husband and conservator, nearly $46 million after finding the doctors who treated her negligent.  

Update: This article was updated to reflect comments from the parties' attorneys. 

Atlanta—Jurors Tuesday found two Atlanta-area physicians negligent and awarded nearly $46 million for the catastrophic brain damage a woman suffered just days after the 2009 birth of her child. Trabue v. Atlanta Women’s Specialists, LLC, et al., 14-EV-001821.