Dalal v. Brown Trucking Company

Summary

In this trucking trial, Avnish Dalal was involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer owned by Brown Trucking Company and operated by driver Evans Tshongwe. Tshongwe's truck was stopped on the highway while avoiding a van that entered his lane.

Dalal, the plaintiff, allegedly suffered a traumatic brain injury from the crash. According to his testimony, the truck in front of him and directly behind Tshongwe's tractor-trailer swerved to avoid the stopped truck. Dalal tried to swerve into the other lane but still hit Tshongwe's truck and proceeded to collide with a third big rig. He claims that Tshongwe's truck caused the crash, as the truck came to a complete stop rather than slowing or pulling off into another lane.

Brown Trucking Company claims that Tshongwe acted appropriately considering the circumstances, as there was no time to determine whether other maneuvers would be safe. Representatives for Brown Trucking show that the truck in front of Dalal successfully evaded the stopped rig, and claim Dalal failed to brake until a second before the crash.

Outcome

Verdict for plaintiff.
Total damages: $16,665,000.

Apportionment of fault:
Brown Trucking Company: 60%
Avnish Dalal: 40%

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Dalal, Avnish
Defense: Brown Trucking Company
Verdict: $16,665,000

Judge: Mike Jacobs
Jurisdiction: State Court of Georgia, Dekalb County
Court: DeKalb County Courthouse

Case Number: 21A04356
Industry: Trucking
Practice Area: Transportation

Plaintiff

Dalal, Avnish

Defense

Brown Trucking Company

Represented By:
Dixon, John (Dennis, Corry, Smith & Dixon, LLP)

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

SESSIONS WITH Michael Goldberg

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

PM Session

Openings

4 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Opening Statement	Goldberg, Michael
00:39:30	Break
00:51:09	Witness Cross Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Tshongwe , Evans	In Person
01:54:20	End of Session

DEC

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:00	Witness Direct Examination	Dixon, John	Tshongwe , Evans	In Person
00:14:09	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Tshongwe , Evans	In Person
00:24:16	Witness Cross Examination	Fried, Joseph	Turner, Kristene	In Person
00:42:25	Witness Direct Examination	Dixon, John	Turner, Kristene	In Person
00:47:04	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Fried, Joseph	Turner, Kristene	In Person
00:49:10	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Dixon, John	Turner, Kristene	In Person
00:49:27	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Fried, Joseph	Turner, Kristene	In Person
00:50:21	Witness Direct Examination		Grill, Lewis	Video Recording
01:26:42	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:59	Witness Direct Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Alexander, Sean	In Person
01:07:58	Break
01:20:41	Witness Cross Examination	Dixon, John	Alexander, Sean	In Person
01:48:25	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Alexander, Sean	In Person
01:49:29	Break
02:06:31	General Case Activities
02:09:44	Witness Direct Examination		Mullens, Jackson	Video Recording
02:16:56	Witness Direct Examination		Moore, Dr. Thomas	Video Recording
02:32:44	Witness Direct Examination		Meals, Dr. Clifton	Video Recording
03:22:08	Break
03:32:43	Witness Direct Examination		Kokabi, Dr. Nima	Video Recording
03:46:22	Witness Direct Examination		Burke, Dr. David	Video Recording
04:24:52	End of Session

DEC

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:14	Witness Direct Examination		Hickle, Dr. Sabrina	Video Recording
00:30:24	Witness Direct Examination		Sass, Dr. John Ph.D.	Video Recording
01:18:14	Break
01:30:47	Witness Direct Examination	Fried, Joseph	Hancock, Victoria	In Person
01:36:42	Witness Direct Examination	Fried, Joseph	Dalal, Neepul	In Person
01:48:16	Witness Cross Examination	Dixon, John	Dalal, Neepul	In Person
01:51:10	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Fried, Joseph	Dalal, Neepul	In Person
01:53:20	Witness Direct Examination	Fried, Joseph	Dalal, Deshon	In Person
02:07:32	End of Session

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

14 Chapters

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	Witness Direct Examination	Fried, Joseph	Dalal, Deshon	In Person
00:20:43	Witness Direct Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Dalal, Avnish	In Person
00:31:47	Witness Cross Examination	Dixon, John	Dalal, Avnish	In Person
00:44:49	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Dalal, Avnish	In Person
00:45:44	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Dixon, John	Dalal, Avnish	In Person
00:46:05	General Case Activities
00:46:33	Break
01:00:04	General Case Activities
01:01:23	Witness Direct Examination	Dixon, John	Ralston, Hal Jr.	In Person
01:44:15	Witness Cross Examination	Goldberg, Michael	Ralston, Hal Jr.	In Person
02:04:38	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Dixon, John	Ralston, Hal Jr.	In Person
02:08:14	Break
02:56:50	General Case Activities
03:01:08	End of Session

DEC

AM Session

Closings

6 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:33	Closing Statement	Goldberg, Michael
00:37:04	Closing Statement	Dixon, John
01:15:44	Closing Statement	Fried, Joseph
01:29:21	General Case Activities
01:31:10	End of Session

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:43:01	End of Session

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:03:28	End of Session

PM Session

Other

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:01:01	End of Session

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:00:40	Reading of the Verdict
		00:01:26	General Case Activities
		00:05:23	End of Session

DEC

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

Dalal v. Brown Trucking Company

Summary

Outcome

SESSIONS WITH Michael Goldberg

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries