$4.25 Million Settlement for Pedestrian Client Injured in Auto Auction Lot

Beasley Allen attorney Warner Hornsby negotiated a $4.25 Million settlement for a pedestrian hit by a car. The client was permanently injured by a vehicle driven recklessly by an employee of the defendant company, ABC Birmingham, LLC, while he attended the auction.

“Our client has suffered, and will continue to suffer, greatly because of the reckless behavior of this auction lot,” said Beasley Allen lawyer Hornsby. “The auto auction company failed to take reasonable steps to hire qualified and adequate drivers, it never monitored its drivers, and consistently allowed speed of sales to outweigh customers’ safety. The defendant needed to be held accountable for its actions, which resulted in our client’s considerable pain and suffering.”

In July 2015, the client went to the defendant’s auction in Moody, Ala. As he was walking through the auction parking lot inspecting vehicles, an auction employee driving a vehicle through the lot struck him in his back and hip. This employee was, at the time, 76 years old and had never before driven in a professional capacity.

Despite the auction claiming a 10-mile-per-hour speed limit on the lot, the driver admitted to going 15 miles per hour and had never heard of any speed limit. Evidence revealed that this was not the first time a pedestrian had been hit on the lot, and a former employee was prepared to testify that the auction lot consistently urged drivers to move through the lot quicker to get cars through the auction.

Mr. Hornsby summarized the end result of the negligence and premise safety failures: “With 600 – 800 pedestrians walking around the lot on a sale day, the evidence showed that it was simply a matter of when, not if, someone would be injured. The lack of any system to ensure safe driving made this terrible result an inevitability.” The collision caused Beasley Allen’s client to suffer injuries requiring multiple surgeries and future medical treatment. The injuries also left him unable to work as he had before the incident.

“As in every case, this was an extraordinary team effort to resolve a case that the defense contested in every aspect,” said Beasley Allen personal injury lawyer Hornsby. “Our client is a great person, and I am proud to have been able to work his case. We are in the business of helping people, and it’s always a joy when we get to help good people who have had their lives upended.”