The Hamburg-based, personal injury law firm of Campbell & Associates recently obtained a jury verdict of $9,869,440. This is the highest personal injury verdict in New York State thus far in 2022. Firm partner Colin Campbell and Catherine Dempsey of Dempsey & Dempsey Law Offices in Buffalo worked together on Perkins vs. County of Tompkins to represent a motorcycle rider who suffered debilitating injuries from a crash in Groton, New York.

Campbell and Dempsey took the case to trial for their client when the defendants would not pay their settlement demand. After three weeks in court, they secured a verdict against Tompkins County and the driver of a pick-up truck. The biker, Christopher Perkins, is a former UPS driver and a volunteer fireman who suffered disabling injuries during the crash.

The incident

The incident occurred in August of 2012 when Perkins was riding on South Main Street in the Town of Groton. The pick-up driver exited his driveway and proceeded south in the northbound lane because he could not see to his right due to the road’s vegetation and curvature. Perkins swerved to avoid colliding with the truck and hit a utility pole beside the road. He sustained a traumatic head injury and fractured right leg.

Case goes to trial

Campbell and Dempsey argued that the County failed to maintain the vegetation alongside the road, which blocked the pick-up driver’s view when exiting the driveway. The driver had also asked the County a year before the crash to remove the vegetation. A County employee visited the property at that time and felt that there was no hazard.

A verdict to help the victim

After years of legal disputes involving various defendants who refused to take any responsibility, Campbell and Dempsey have obtained a verdict that will provide for the victim now and in the future. This case involves loss of future income, severe head injuries, and the pain and suffering endured by the plaintiff.