May 10, 2023
Lock Gordon attorney Jim Gordon achieved a defense verdict on behalf of a public entity and its employee in a wrongful death action stemming from a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident that occurred on Hatteras Island, North Carolina. Specifically, Plaintiffs claimed that the decedent was sunbathing on a beach on Hatteras Island, when she was run over and killed by a pickup truck operated by the Captain of a water rescue team that was patrolling the beach. The accident occurred in the middle of the day. Plaintiffs introduced evidence that the decedent was conscious for a period of time following the accident.
The case was venued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. Plaintiffs sought $6,000,000 in wrongful death damages. The sole question before the jury was whether Defendants were negligent. On May 2, 2023, after deliberating for approximately 35 minutes, the jury returned a defense verdict finding no negligence on the part of the Defendants.