$16.66 Million Verdict for Georgia Man Left With TBI After Going Under Big Rig on I-285

In August 2021, Avnish Dalal was 21 years old and driving on Interstate 285 in Decatur, Georgia, when a chain-reaction crash unfolded ahead of him. A Brown Trucking Company driver, Evans Tshongwe, brought his big rig to a sudden stop to avoid a van that had cut into his lane. Dalal, traveling behind the truck, swerved to miss the stopped vehicle, clipped it, then struck a second tractor-trailer before sliding underneath the Brown Trucking rig.

The collision left Dalal with severe arm injuries requiring multiple surgeries. He also sustained a traumatic brain injury that his attorneys described as producing long-standing neurological effects. Even after recovery efforts spanning years, he continued to face physical limitations that changed the trajectory of his early adult life.

Brown Trucking and its insurer offered $2 million to resolve the case before trial. Dalal rejected that figure, and the case proceeded to a four-day jury trial in DeKalb County State Court in December 2023. Fried Goldberg attorneys Michael Goldberg and Joseph Fried, working alongside co-counsel from Deochand and Jayswal Law Group, argued that Tshongwe had failed to apply his brakes quickly enough after the truck's own acoustic warning system signaled the van entering his lane. The defense maintained that Tshongwe responded appropriately given the circumstances.

After roughly five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of $16.66 million. Jurors assigned 60 percent of the fault to Brown Trucking and 40 percent to Dalal. Under Georgia's apportionment rules, the recoverable portion of the verdict was expected to be reduced to approximately $10 million.

Case No. 21A04356, DeKalb County State Court. The trial ran December 11 through December 14, 2023.