Glen Bellamy, age 50, was driving through an intersection on a green light when his car collided with a tractor-trailer driven by Thomas Godbold. Godbold was employed by Red Classic Transit LLC. It was alleged that Godbold ran a red light, causing this crash with Bellamy’s vehicle and severely injuring him.
Bellamy suffered a traumatic brain injury. He now has difficulty with executive functions such as decision-making, and he has a short-term memory deficit. His past medical expenses paid totaled $1,300,000, and his future medical expenses and life-care costs are estimated at $4.2 million.
Bellamy was a truck driver at the time of the incident and was permanently disabled by this collision. His lost earnings, past and future are estimated to be $776,800.
Bellamy and his mother, as his legal guardian, sued the truck driver, Thomas Godbold and his employer, the tractor-trailer company, Red Classic Transit LLC, for negligence in running the red light and choosing not to yield the right-of-way to Bellamy. The lawsuit against Red Classic Transit alleged that it was liable for Godbold’s negligence under the respondeat superior theory of negligence.
The defendants maintained that Bellamy, not Godbold, ran the red light. Before trial, the parties agreed to settle the case for $12 million, which was paid by the insurance company for Red Classic Transit.
The attorneys representing Bellamy were Peter A. Law, E. Michael Moran and Edward A. Piasta.
Bellamy v. Godbold, No. 2013-CP-43-669 (South Carolina, Ct. Com. Pleas Sumter County, Sept. 18, 2014).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling tractor-trailer crashes, truck accident cases, construction site accident cases and catastrophic injury cases for individuals and families who have been injured or killed by the negligence of another for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Naperville, New Lenox, Bartlett, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, Flossmoor, Calumet City, Highland Park, Hinsdale, Inverness, River Grove, Evanston, Niles, Skokie, Winnetka, Wilmette, Glencoe, Glenview, Northfield, Northbrook, Wheeling, Vernon Hills and Orland Park, Ill.
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