Left-turning truck kills 82nd Airborne paratrooper: $1.5 million wrongful-death settlement

On a clear afternoon in 2012, Sgt. Edward Frank Greiner Jr. was riding his Harley-Davidson along a Fayetteville highway near Fort Bragg. He was 32 and a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. Just after 2 p.m., the driver of a pickup truck owned by the homebuilding company Caviness & Cates turned left across his path. Greiner suffered blunt force trauma and went into cardiac arrest within about six minutes. He was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Hospital.

Greiner had already served overseas and, by the accounts of those who knew him, was preparing for another deployment to Afghanistan. He died March 6, 2012, and was survived by his parents, his sister, and his extended family. The 63-year-old truck driver was initially charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle. He later pleaded guilty to careless and reckless driving.

The Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo brought the estate's claim against the driver and his employer, with Michael A. DeMayo and Elizabeth G. Grimes representing the family. The case rested on a straightforward theory of left-turn negligence: a motorcyclist traveling with the right of way, struck by a vehicle that crossed in front of him.

To establish the loss, the firm retained economist Gary Albrecht of Winston-Salem. Albrecht calculated Greiner's net career earnings as a sergeant at roughly $929,000 and valued the household services he would have provided at more than $74,000. Medical and funeral expenses came to nearly $35,000. The wrongful-death claim centered primarily on the parents' loss of their son's society and companionship.

The lawsuit, captioned The Estate of Edward Frank Greiner, Jr. v. Charles R. Madison and Caviness & Cates Property Management, was filed in Cumberland County Superior Court as case number 15-CVS-544. The parties settled on April 23, 2015, for $1.5 million. Because the matter resolved before trial, there was no verdict to appeal and no reduction or remittitur.