Man injured in North FL semi-truck crash wins $1.7M verdict

[Live Oak, FL] – A Suwannee County jury has awarded a $1,734,751.34 verdict to a local 49-year-old man over injuries he suffered in a 2024 truck crash in Live Oak. Represented by Morgan & Morgan attorneys Matt Grossman, Frank Fratello and Brandi Gartrell, the plaintiff declined the defense’s highest pre-trial settlement offer of $250,000 before being awarded the seven-figure verdict.

On January 18, 2024, the plaintiff, an employee of the City of Live Oak, was operating a city-owned boom truck collecting discarded foliage on the side of Ohio Avenue South in Live Oak. The vehicle was stopped with its hazard lights on when a semi-truck collided forcefully with the back of the boom truck, pushing it approximately 100 feet from the point of impact. The plaintiff suffered significant injuries, including a laceration to his head, three broken ribs, a cracked sternum, a punctured lung and a back injury that necessitated surgery.

“This was a devastating crash that completely altered our client’s life,” said Morgan & Morgan founder John Morgan and attorney Matt Grossman. “After more than 25 years of serving his community as a city employee, his life was upended in an instant by a negligent truck driver. Despite clear liability in this case, the defendant’s insurance company refused for years to fairly compensate our client. Luckily, a jury recognized the impacts of his injuries – including on his ability to play with his grandchildren – and delivered a just verdict.”

The case was heard by Judge Mark E. Feagle, Case No. 2024-CA-0038 in the Third Judicial Circuit in and for Suwannee County, Florida.