Columbus Lawyer Assists in Reaching Settlement in Wrongful Death Claim

Mar 5, 2015

A Columbus lawyer assisted in securing a $4.5 million settlement in the wrongful death of Griffin, Georgia mother of three Nicole Thomas. Thomas was hit by a tractor-trailer truck. Columbus lawyer Derrell Dowdell stated he united with Griffin lawyer Charles Graham to acquire the settlement against the Pennsylvania Trucking Company throughout a mediation on September 3, 2014. Dowdell declared the lawyers were ready for a jury trial in U.S. District Court in the Northern District prior to the verdict coming throughout a second mediation. Dowdell stated on October 19, 2014 that the lawsuit’s settlement gave the family a little resolution without having to panic about a trial’s uncertainty.

Mary E. Thomas and Mario Hall, the mother and friend of Nicole Thomas, filed the wrongful death claim. Thomas died on April 9, 2013 when trucker Shawn Allen Bridges hit her eastbound Honda Accord from behind on State Route 16. Bridges was going very fast for conditions as Thomas stopped for a turning vehicle in front of her. The Freightliner hit the Honda’s rear and propelled it spinning wildly into the westbound lanes, where another approaching vehicle hit it a second time. The Honda turned over and wound up in a ditch. Thirty-one-year-old mother of three Thomas died of direct head and neck trauma.

The claim was filed in U.S. District Court in front of Judge Timothy C. Batten Sr., who commanded mediation in the Northern District of Georgia Newnan Division. On April 16, 2014, the initial mediation was convened, but no settlement was attained. Thomas lawyers were ready for trial when the trucking company’s lawyers demanded a second mediation.

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