Pajcic & Pajcic represented Michael, a disabled veteran; Angel, a hardworking transplant from hurricane ravaged Puerto Rico; and Angel’s precocious, five-year-old niece, Yadi.
On the afternoon of March 3, 2020, Michael was returning from an errand at Walmart, and Angel was taking Yadi home from school. They were stopped in a construction zone along The Buccaneer Trail (SR 200) waiting for the traffic light to change. Meanwhile, the log truck driver, up since 4am, sped off the island, past warning signs, and toward our trapped clients at a reckless rate of speed. Never slowing his truck, he overrode bumpers, crunched cars, and shattered glass at an estimated 67 mph. The forces broke Michael’s back, herniated discs in Angel’s spine, and damaged Yadi’s brain – serious, life-changing injuries.
While the actions of the log truck company and its driver were clearly indefensible, their insurance company refused to accept financial responsibility for the injuries inflicted, took over a dozen depositions, retained expensive out-of-state experts to contradict the treating physicians, hired a private eye to harass Angel, and invaded the sanctity of Yadi’s classroom by subpoenaing her teachers.
Pajcic & Pajcic presented the truth, and the jury delivered a message. After three hours of deliberation, the jury found compensatory damages of over $16,500,000 for Michael, Angel, and Yadi and assessed punitive damages of $125,000,000 against the log truck company for its gross negligence in hiring and employing a dangerous driver without ever even considering his background or any of the applicable safety laws.
The message was heard. Trucking publications are calling it Pajcic & Pajcic’s “latest nuclear verdict in trucking.” Citizens of Hilliard, Callahan, Fernandina, and Yulee are calling it “justice” and hoping that the verdict will get other unsafe log trucks off the roads of Nassau County.
On November 6, 2024, six Nassau County jurors unanimously condemned the actions of a North Florida log truck company and put the entire industry on notice that dangerous trucks will no longer be tolerated.