$1.2 Million Verdict for Fort Knox Soldier Clipped by AmeriGas Propane Truck on Jefferson County Road
Won by Kaufman & Stigger, PLLC.
A Jefferson County jury awarded $1,200,626 to a Fort Knox Staff Sergeant whose left arm was permanently impaired after an AmeriGas propane delivery truck drifted into his lane and clipped his motorcycle on Blevins Gap Road in September 2005.
What happened
On September 9, 2005, Stephen Puccini, a 33-year-old active-duty Staff Sergeant stationed at Fort Knox, was riding his Suzuki motorcycle with a group of riders along Blevins Gap Road in rural Jefferson County. Robert Hoffman, driving a propane delivery truck for AmeriGas Propane of Kentucky, was heading in the opposite direction.
As the two vehicles closed on each other, Puccini saw Hoffman's truck drifting into his lane. He hit the brakes, trying to give the truck room to clear. It was not enough. The truck clipped the motorcycle, and Puccini went down.
The crash left Puccini with a lacerated spleen, a dislocated shoulder, a fractured toe, and the amputation of another toe. The most lasting consequence was a brachial plexus injury that permanently reduced the use of his left arm. Puccini remained in the Army and continued his service, but the impairment significantly restricted what he could do.
Kaufman Stigger & Hughes attorneys Cara Stigger and Kerstin Schuhmann brought suit against Hoffman and AmeriGas Propane. At trial, accident reconstruction expert William Cloyd of Lexington testified that Hoffman's truck had crossed into Puccini's lane before the impact. Economist Robert Pulsinelli of Bowling Green addressed the long-term financial cost of the arm impairment, which the plaintiff valued at $479,748. Medical bills totaled $125,000, and the jury could also award up to $1.5 million for pain and suffering.
AmeriGas, represented by Nancy Loucks and Erwin Roberts of Frost Brown Todd, contested liability on two grounds: that the motorcyclists had been racing before the crash, and that the physical evidence showed the collision occurred in Hoffman's lane, not Puccini's. Defense accident expert Robert Miller of Louisville supported that reconstruction. The jury rejected both arguments.
On November 20, 2009, the Jefferson Circuit Court jury found Hoffman solely at fault and awarded Puccini $125,000 in medical costs, $75,000 for impairment, and $1,000,000 for pain and suffering, totaling $1,200,626. Judge McDonald-Burkman entered a consistent judgment. AmeriGas moved for a new trial, arguing that fault should have been apportioned to Puccini for speeding and that the damages were excessive at roughly ten times the medical bills. The court denied the motion.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.