Dugan v. Tesla

Summary

Plaintiff Chris Dugan suffered a traumatic brain injury and a partial foot amputation after a collision with a Tesla employee. The employee, Kyle Kaszuba, turned across double yellow lines while he was running late for work, blindsiding Dugan.

Dugan argues that Kaszuba made a reckless turn to save time, failing to appropriately check for oncoming traffic.

Defendant Tesla emphasizes how Dugan was riding a motorcycle without a helmet and suddenly accelerated, which temporarily hid him behind a car.

Outcome

Verdict for plaintiff.
Total damages: $60,687,491.

Apportionment of fault:
Tesla: 70%
Chris Dugan: 30%

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Dugan, Chris
Defense: Tesla
Verdict: $60,687,491

Judge: Marianne Vorhees
Jurisdiction: 13th Judicial District of Indiana
Court: Marion Superior Court

Case Number: 49D04-1705-CT-018411
Industry: Automotive, Transportation
Practice Area: Negligence

Plaintiff

Dugan, Chris

Defense

Tesla

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Openings

5 Chapters

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:14:13	Opening Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
01:45:59	Break
02:02:50	Opening Statement	Lifrak, Michael
02:39:43	End of Session

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

18 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

10 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

18 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Closings

11 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es) - Damages

13 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es) - Damages

14 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es) - Damages

12 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es) - Damages

15 Chapters

MAR

AM Session

Closings - Damages

9 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict - Damages

4 Chapters

MAR

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:18	Witness Direct Examination		Kaszuba, Kyle	Video Recording
00:33:45	Break
01:08:25	Witness Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Heustis, Douglas	In Person
01:52:22	Witness Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Heustis, Douglas	In Person
02:03:27	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Heustis, Douglas	In Person
02:20:19	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Heustis, Douglas	In Person
02:27:07	Break
02:44:37	Witness Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:11:15	Witness Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:22:23	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:25:53	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:27:03	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:27:37	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Alexander, Christopher	In Person
03:29:39	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Dugan, Chris	In Person
03:43:46	Break
03:56:36	Witness Cross Examination		Dugan, Chris	In Person
03:58:45	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:11:45	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Nash, William	In Person
01:22:29	Witness Cross Examination	Griffin, Asher	Nash, William	In Person
01:54:21	Break
02:08:16	Witness Cross Examination	Griffin, Asher	Nash, William	In Person
02:19:02	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Nash, William	In Person
02:43:07	Witness Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Dugan, Chris	In Person
02:45:01	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Dugan, Chris	In Person
02:50:09	General Case Activities
02:51:40	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:23	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
01:08:07	Break
01:20:45	Witness Cross Examination	Griffin, Asher	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
02:49:09	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:15	Witness Cross Examination	Griffin, Asher	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
00:17:45	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
00:55:25	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Griffin, Asher	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
01:06:06	Witness Direct Examination	Griffin, Asher	Garets, Stephen	In Person
01:25:07	Break
01:43:32	Witness Direct Examination	Griffin, Asher	Garets, Stephen	In Person
01:54:14	Witness Cross Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Garets, Stephen	In Person
02:15:46	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Griffin, Asher	Garets, Stephen	In Person
02:27:10	General Case Activities		Garets, Stephen	In Person
02:28:50	Break
02:48:06	General Case Activities
02:50:03	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Kaszuba, Kyle	In Person
03:42:24	Break
03:56:23	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Kaszuba, Kyle	In Person
03:59:40	General Case Activities		Kaszuba, Kyle	In Person
04:05:42	General Case Activities
04:06:12	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:14:37	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
01:42:37	Break
01:54:30	General Case Activities
01:55:07	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
02:19:07	Closing Statement	Lifrak, Michael
02:53:33	Closing Statement	Griffin, Asher
03:22:50	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
03:57:47	Closing Statement	Christie, Lee
04:11:18	General Case Activities
04:11:52	End of Session

Dugan v. Tesla

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:03:34	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
01:24:55	Break
01:38:25	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Johnson, Kevin	In Person
03:02:01	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:00:21	Reading of the Verdict
		00:00:39	General Case Activities
		00:01:28	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:19	Opening Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
00:55:51	Opening Statement	Thompson, Ellyde
01:10:11	Break
01:24:16	General Case Activities
01:27:34	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Latham, Ches	In Person
01:53:57	Witness Cross Examination	Bergjans, Alex	Latham, Ches	In Person
02:01:27	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Latham, Ches	In Person
02:04:17	Witness Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Latham, Andrea	In Person
02:24:14	Witness Cross Examination	Bergjans, Alex	Latham, Andrea	In Person
02:27:42	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Christie, Lee	Latham, Andrea	In Person
02:39:01	General Case Activities
02:39:27	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:26	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Norris, Anne	In Person
00:42:34	Witness Cross Examination	Thompson, Ellyde	Norris, Anne	In Person
00:56:11	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Norris, Anne	In Person
01:04:24	Witness Direct Examination	Moore, Christie	Dennin, Jamie	In Person
01:19:01	Break
01:36:13	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
02:14:22	Witness Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
02:41:39	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
02:52:33	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
02:55:15	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
02:58:31	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Lifrak, Michael	Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
03:02:14	General Case Activities		Overman, Dr. Ryan	In Person
03:06:28	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:35	Witness Direct Examination		Dugan, Ashley	In Person
00:20:27	Witness Direct Examination		Hunt, Shelly	In Person
00:44:55	Witness Cross Examination		Hunt, Shelly	In Person
01:07:24	Break
01:29:27	General Case Activities
01:30:24	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Dugan, Chris	In Person
01:58:51	Witness Direct Examination		Dugan, Olivia	In Person
02:08:44	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Westcott, Dr. Polly	In Person
03:22:44	Break
03:31:41	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Westcott, Dr. Polly	In Person
03:42:22	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:20:22	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
01:16:43	Closing Statement	Lifrak, Michael
01:25:50	Break
01:48:24	General Case Activities
01:49:02	Closing Statement	Lifrak, Michael
02:21:54	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
02:36:21	General Case Activities
02:37:33	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:00:19	Reading of the Verdict
		00:01:06	General Case Activities
		00:02:40	End of Session