Jury finds for plaintiff in late-night trucking crash

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Action: Motor vehicle negligence

Injuries alleged: Broken cervical spine, broken hip, broken tibia, torn shoulder, traumatic brain injury

Case name: Thomas v. New Prime, Inc. and Hamilton

Court/case no.: Chesterfield County Court of Common Pleas/2024-CP-13-00473

Amount: $30 million

Date: May 22, 2026

Attorneys: David Yarborough Jr., Liam Duffy, and Reynolds Blankenship of Yarborough Applegate in Charleston, Franklin Joyner Jr. of Joyner Law Firm in Cheraw, and appellate counsel Mitch Brown of Nelson Mullins in Columbia (for the plaintiff)

On March 1, 2024, the plaintiff—a front-seat passenger in his wife’s vehicle—was left catastrophically and permanently injured near Cheraw when a truck driver suddenly turned in front of their vehicle near midnight, causing the plaintiff’s wife to crash into the side of the truck at a high speed. Defendants argued that the truck driver began making a safe turn but that he misjudged the turn and was correcting himself in a well-lit intersection when the crash occurred, arguing that the truck was highly visible and that the plaintiff’s wife attempted to brake at the last second. At trial, the plaintiff testified that he suffered physical trauma and cognitive, emotional, and memory deficits that will require lifelong medical and attendant care. Treating physicians testified that the plaintiff is permanently disabled and unemployable because of his injuries. The plaintiff presented economic losses of more than $12 million, including past and future medical expenses and lost wages and earning capacity.