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Jury Finds In Favor of Pensacola Plaintiff

[Pensacola, FL] - Theresa Guy was driving with a friend and her 4 y/o son down Kingsfield Road in Pensacola as it intersects Hwy 97 on Saturday 10/17/09.  Defendant Roads Inc. was installing a turn lane on the right side of the road. A few weeks before they had put down the initial layer of asphalt in the turn lane and had taken down the stop sign that governed the roadway as traveled by Ms. Guy.  The sign was moved to a point 19’ off the side of the road. Someone complained a week later that you couldn’t see it. Instead of moving it back they installed a “stop ahead” sign and a far-removed left hand stop sign. At the time of the accident, there was heavy equipment parked in the turn lane from when they left work the day before. This blocked the view of the right-hand sign from about 300 feet, in violation of Florida law. Theresa went through the stop sign and her car was T-boned by another vehicle, killing her son and her passenger. 

Attorneys for the Plaintiff Matt Schultz and Rachael Gilmer presented evidence to the jury to establish that Roads Inc.  had violated regulations and standards in the misplacement of road barrels and road signs and had left heavy equipment in a designated clear zone, thus blocking a clear view of their misplaced stop sign and the intersection traffic itself. Moreover, evidence accumulated by the Plaintiff's attorneys proved that Roads’ superintendent on the jobsite did not have the required training and certifications. After an initial deliberation on the issue of liability, the jury found that Roads, Inc. of NW Florida was 90% at fault for the accident. In a subsequent deliberation the same jury awarded damages of $4.25 Million in this wrongful death lawsuit.

Plaintiff: Theresa Guy as Personal Rep of Estate of her Deceased Son Nathian Guy

Defendant: Roads, Inc. of NW Fla.

Judge of the Circuit Court: Gary Bergosh

Plaintiff Counsel: Matt Schultz, Rachael Gilmer, both of Levin Papantonio, Thomas Mitchell, Rafferty & Proctor, P.A.

Defense Counsel: Steve Puritz (Tallahassee) Arron Nesbitt (Denver, CO)

Verdict of May 12, 2014: $4.25 M for the Plaintiff

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