Madison County Team Secures Directed Verdict in Traumatic Brain Injury Case
Madison County, Ill. (May 28, 2025) - Madison County Partners Adam S. Johnson and Zachary Shelton recently secured a directed verdict on behalf of a Lewis Brisbois client in Madison County, Illinois. The matter arose from a multi-vehicle accident that resulted in serious bodily injuries to multiple vehicle occupants, including a life-altering traumatic brain injury to the plaintiff.
At trial, the plaintiff presented numerous expert witnesses including an accident reconstructionist, and multiple treating and retained physicians and experts. The plaintiff’s medical experts included physicians specializing in neurology, brain injury, and rehabilitative medicine.
The plaintiff's medical experts and economist testified that as a result of the accident at issue, the plaintiff suffered catastrophic injuries requiring a lifetime of care with a projected cost of over $15 million and 24-hour supervised medical care. The plaintiff alleged that in addition to future medical costs, he was unable to complete activities of daily living and would continue to live with both limitations and pain. Based on the severity of his injuries and the scope of his future needs, the plaintiff requested the jury award in excess of $80 million in past and future damages.
The defense directly challenged the plaintiff’s accident reconstructionist based on physical evidence at the scene, witness reports, and human factor science including reaction time and speed calculations. During cross-examination the defense was able to force the plaintiff’s accident reconstructionist to concede that our client did not have sufficient time to react and avoid the accident based on the lighting conditions and placement of the vehicles at the accident scene.
The defense was also able to show many flaws in the methodology and conclusions drawn by each of the plaintiff’s many experts who prepared life care plans setting forth all future medical costs that were requested to be paid by the jury. These inconsistencies and errors in the plaintiff’s experts’ opinions were put on display during trial to challenge the veracity of plaintiff’s claims and to argue that the plaintiff’s future medical costs were substantially lower than claimed by the plaintiff at trial.
Following the close of the plaintiff’s case-in-chief, the defense moved for a directed verdict, arguing that the plaintiff had failed to show any evidence that the defendant bore any negligence for causing the accident at issue or the plaintiff’s injuries. Following argument, the court issued a directed verdict absolving our client of any responsibility for the accident at issue. The case proceeding against the remaining defendant, who was represented by another law firm. The jury ultimately entered a verdict of $35 million against the remaining defendant.
Mr. Johnson is a trial attorney and member of the firm’s National Trial Practice Team with nearly two dozen jury trials. Mr. Johnson represents numerous national insurance carriers and commercial clients. He is a long-time Member of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA).
Mr. Shelton is a member of Lewis Brisbois’ General Liability practice. He focuses his practice on general civil litigation, including automobile liability, and routinely handles all aspects of civil litigation, including jury trials.
Related Attorneys
Partners
-
-
618.307.7632
Latest News
- January 13, 2026 Shawn Schatzle Pens Law360 Expert Analysis On New York’s AVOID Act
- January 13, 2026 Francis Pileggi Speaks With Law360 Pulse For Article On Delaware Legal Leaders’ Predictions for 2026
- January 12, 2026 Lewis Brisbois Bolsters Firm Leadership With Highly Experienced Chief Administrative Officer Hire