Verdicts & Settlements
Jury Awards Motorcyclist $4.3 Million
It took a Lackawanna County jury less than two hours to award $4.3 million to a Lake Ariel man who suffered severe injuries when the motorcycle he was driving struck a piece of timber lying on the North Scranton Expressway. Scott Wilson, RD 6, Box 26, Lake Ariel, was driving his 1980 BMW motorcycle south on the expressway about a mile north of the North Main Avenue exit ramp when he struck a wooden timber, measuring 6' x 5" x 3" which had been lying across the southbound passing lane. The 32-year-old man was thrown from the vehicle and suffered spinal fractures with spinal cord injury resulting in permanent paraplegia.
The jury found Russell Jenkins, 1024 Moosic St., and Matthew Smith, 1371 N. Washington Ave., negligent for placing the timber on the roadway and responsible for the injuries sustained by Wilson. The jury's award includes $2,925,000 for past and future pain, suffering, embarrassment humiliation, diminished well-being and loss of enjoyment of life, $975,000 in lost earnings, $11,000 for disfigurement, $400,000 for medical expenses and $28,100 in punitive damages.
A co-defendant, John Wrobleski, 1371 N. Washington Ave., entered a settlement with the plaintiff before the trial ended. The plaintiff was represented by Attorney Matthew A. Cartwright.
