Linn County Jury Awards $9 Million to Passenger Who Lost Her Leg in Motorcycle Collision

On a stretch of U.S. Highway 36 at its intersection with Missouri Route F in Linn County, a vehicle driven by Carolyn Wolfe pulled out of the side road and directly into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. Audrey Ford was riding as a passenger on her husband's bike. The collision was immediate and violent. Ford was airlifted to a hospital in Columbia, where surgeons amputated her right leg above the knee.

Wolfe's defense rested on a simple claim: it was an accident. She told the jury she had come to a complete stop at the highway and looked carefully before entering the intersection. The defense also pointed to Ford's post-injury activities, including continued work and cross-country travel, as evidence of the limits of her loss.

The Popham Law Firm's Wm. Dirk Vandever led the trial team for Ford, working alongside co-counsel Andy Gelbach and Josh Meisner. The team presented evidence of permanent, life-altering injury, an above-the-knee amputation that leaves Ford without the use of her right leg for the rest of her life, against the backdrop of a driver who failed to yield at a main highway. Ford's husband, also on the motorcycle, had his claims dismissed before trial to prevent the jury from apportioning fault to him as an additional party.

After deliberations, the Linn County jury returned a verdict of $9 million for Audrey Ford. Missouri Lawyers Media reported the result in September 2021, noting it as one of the largest jury verdicts in northern Missouri. The case later appeared on Missouri Lawyers Media's annual recognition of top verdicts and settlements from 2021.