$11.6 Million Bradford County Verdict After J.B. Hunt Subcontractor Rear-Ends Driver at Starke Intersection
Won by Coker Law Jacksonville.
A Bradford County jury returned an $11,629,759.42 verdict for Michael Pelfrey after a truck driver working under J.B. Hunt's authority rear-ended his vehicle at a Starke traffic light, leaving Pelfrey with serious and permanent injuries. The jury assigned Pelfrey 20 percent of the fault, and the court entered a net final judgment of $9,293,807.54.
What happened
On July 14, 2018, Michael Pelfrey was stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of State Road 301 and Hazen Street in Starke, Florida. A tractor-trailer driven by John F. Lukens, an employee of Rock Island Depot, Inc., operating under J.B. Hunt Transport authority, failed to slow down and struck Pelfrey's vehicle from behind. The force of the collision pushed Pelfrey's car into the vehicle stopped ahead of him.
Pelfrey filed suit in March 2021 in the Circuit Court of Bradford County against J.B. Hunt Transport, Rock Island Depot, and Lukens, asserting claims of negligence and vicarious liability. He alleged that Lukens failed to maintain a safe speed, failed to keep a proper following distance, and failed to exercise appropriate caution approaching the intersection.
The injuries Pelfrey sustained were serious and permanent. Trial evidence included expert testimony from neurological, orthopedic, and life care planning specialists, establishing both the nature of his physical harm and the long-term costs of treatment he would require going forward.
Coker Law attorneys Stefano Portigliatti and Trevor Hawes tried the case alongside co-counsel Michael Humphries of Coker Law and John S. Mordecai of John S. Mordecai, P.A. The defense was handled by Fowler White Burnett on behalf of J.B. Hunt and separate Jacksonville-based counsel for Rock Island Depot and Lukens.
On August 15, 2023, the jury returned a verdict of $11,629,759.42 for Pelfrey. The award included $1,019,355.27 in past medical expenses, $610,404.15 in future medical expenses, $3,000,000 for past pain and suffering, and $7,000,000 for future pain and suffering. The jury assigned Pelfrey 20 percent of the fault and driver Lukens 80 percent, and on October 12, 2023 the court entered a final judgment of $9,293,807.54 for Pelfrey to reflect that reduction. Defense motions for a new trial and for remittitur were denied on October 18, 2023. The gross verdict is listed as number 28 among the top 50 Florida verdicts of 2023, docket number 2021-CA-000116, before Judge George M. Wright.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.