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.

Dr. Katharine Wenstrom says she believes improper care by Drs. Rebecca Simonsen and Stanley Angus led to the heart attack and catastrophic brain damage Shannon Trabue suffered three days after Trabue gave birth. 

Atlanta—An obstetrician who has previously appeared as a medical malpractice defense expert told jurors last week she decided to testify on behalf of a plaintiff for the first time ever because she was “horrified” at the circumstances surrounding the catastrophic brain damage a Georgia woman suffered days after giving birth, as trial continues against the medical practice that treated her. Trabue v. Atlanta Women’s Specialists, LLC, et al., 14-EV-001821.

Stock image. 

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the verdict reached Friday morning. 

Jurors Friday awarded more than $3 million to the family of a woman who died days after childbirth, with a verdict that split fault between the two nurses who treated her, but cleared her doctor of negligence. Edwards v. Nicome, et al., 11A36121.