Watson v. Blackburn

Summary

In this trial, James Matthew Watson was stopped at a light when he was rear-ended by Todd Blackburn's pickup truck. Blackburn concedes negligence but contends the severity of the back, hip, and other chronic injuries that Watson says he developed in the wake of the crash.

Watson claims that these injuries he suffered severely limited his daily life, resulting in a long medical history of surgeries and treatments beginning after the accident.

Representatives for Blackburn argue that these injuries are unrelated to the crash, highlighting how the crash was not severe enough to activate Watson's airbags and proposing that long-term tissue damage was at the root of the pain.

Outcome

Verdict for plaintiff.
Total damages: $1.2 million

Case Information

Attorneys

Witnesses

Plaintiff: Watson, James
Defense: Blackburn, Todd
Verdict: $1,200,000

Judge: Michelle Helhoski
Jurisdiction: Cherokee County State Court
Court: Cherokee County State Court

Industry: Transportation
Practice Area: Negligence

Plaintiff

Watson, James

Represented By:
Rowley, Nicholas (Jordan, Herington & Rowley)
Wilson, Joseph (JL Wilson Trial Law)

Defense

Blackburn, Todd

Represented By:
Davis, Russell (Downey & Cleveland, LLP)
Sylvan, W. Coleman (Downey & Cleveland, LLP)

Expert Witnesses

Lay Witnesses

Sessions

Attorney

Witness

Type

Description

AM Session

Jury Selection (Voir Dire)

2 Chapters

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		02:10:48	End of Session

JUN

AM Session

Openings

3 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

14 Chapters

AM Session

Openings

3 Chapters

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

5 Chapters

PM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

15 Chapters

JUN

AM Session

Plaintiff Witness(es)

9 Chapters

PM Session

Defense Witness(es)

10 Chapters

JUN

AM Session

Closings

11 Chapters

PM Session

Verdict

4 Chapters

JUN

Recording Disclaimer: This proceeding was recorded in full.

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:56	Witness Direct Examination		Kassamali, Dr. Ali	Video Recording
01:40:37	Break
02:22:30	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
02:56:01	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
03:01:32	Break
03:21:16	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
03:33:55	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
03:43:45	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
03:45:20	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Hyman, Dr. Jon	Video Conference
03:49:20	Witness Direct Examination	Wilson, Joseph	Lawson, Meg	In Person
04:00:22	Witness Cross Examination	Sylvan, W. Coleman	Lawson, Meg	In Person
04:05:32	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Wilson, Joseph	Lawson, Meg	In Person
04:07:40	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:25	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Watson, James	In Person
00:23:31	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Watson, James	In Person
00:25:15	Break
01:02:43	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Watson, James	In Person
01:50:13	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Watson, James	In Person
01:58:28	Break
02:25:40	Witness Direct Examination	Wilson, Joseph	Vasquez, Sandra	In Person
02:37:20	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Vasquez, Sandra	In Person
02:42:13	Break
02:58:38	Witness Direct Examination	Wilson, Joseph	Chebuhar, Dr. Craig	Video Conference
03:18:43	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Chebuhar, Dr. Craig	Video Conference
03:48:11	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Wilson, Joseph	Chebuhar, Dr. Craig	Video Conference
04:01:07	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Chebuhar, Dr. Craig	Video Conference
05:02:22	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:22	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
01:12:26	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
02:00:46	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
02:07:32	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
02:11:32	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
02:15:22	Break
02:39:32	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Watson, Amber	In Person
02:50:47	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:02:04	Witness Direct Examination	Davis, Russell	Blackburn, Todd	In Person
00:09:43	Witness Cross Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Blackburn, Todd	In Person
00:23:04	Witness Direct Examination	Sylvan, W. Coleman	Martino, Dr. Joseph	In Person
01:02:53	Break
01:32:58	Witness Direct Examination	Sylvan, W. Coleman	Martino, Dr. Joseph	In Person
02:40:48	Break
02:58:58	Witness Direct Examination	Sylvan, W. Coleman	Martino, Dr. Joseph	In Person
03:12:34	Witness Cross Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Martino, Dr. Joseph	In Person
03:52:43	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:30	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
00:09:15	Witness Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
00:11:22	Witness Re-Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
00:13:47	Witness Re-Cross Examination	Davis, Russell	Bilotta, Dr. Jessica	Video Conference
00:15:17	Closing Statement	Wilson, Joseph
01:10:42	Closing Statement	Davis, Russell
02:08:04	Break
02:19:28	Closing Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
03:25:31	General Case Activities
03:49:22	End of Session

Watson v. Blackburn

Summary

Outcome

Sessions

AudioCaseFiles

Essentials

Training Libraries

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:53	Opening Statement	Rowley, Nicholas
01:30:42	End of Session

	Description	Attorney
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:00:57	Opening Statement	Davis, Russell
00:37:55	End of Session

	Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
00:00:00	General Case Activities
00:01:58	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Watson, James	In Person
01:08:46	Break
01:30:30	Witness Direct Examination	Rowley, Nicholas	Watson, James	In Person
01:40:56	End of Session

			Description	Attorney	Witness	Presence
		00:00:00	General Case Activities
		00:02:11	Reading of the Verdict
		00:02:58	General Case Activities
		00:04:58	End of Session