$16.2 million verdict ends Amazon Logistics trial over delivery truck crash that injured child

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Lawrenceville, GA – Jurors returned a $16.2 million verdict Thursday in the trial of Amazon Logistics and a service partner over injuries sustained by a child in Georgia when he was hit by a delivery truck. Bradfield v. Amazon Logistics et al., 22-C-07003-S7.

A jury in Gwinnett County, Georgia, state court awarded Amazon 85% of responsibility on a negligent training claim and Fly Fella Logistics delivery driver Jowann Cowan 10% for the 2022 accident that seriously injured the child's leg. Notably, however, jurors also concluded that Amazon exercised sufficient operational control over defendant Fly Fella to make the delivery giant liable for Cowan's share of the fault as his employer.

The ruling ends the first case in Georgia and one of the first in the country to hear a court case about whether Amazon, as an employer, is liable for the conduct of its delivery partners' drivers, said Joseph Fried of Fried Goldberg. The firm's Michael Goldberg and Fried represented the child's father in the case.

The jury also awarded a neighbor who was not involved in the case and had agreed to look after the child five percent of responsibility for the accident, which will reduce the final compensation accordingly.

The accident occurred as the boy was crossing a neighborhood street on an electric bike and Cowan was leaving a stop he had reserved for other children. The van struck and eventually ran over the child, leaving him with a pelvic fracture and a “skinning” injury that required multiple skin grafts to treat and left him with lifelong scars.

Thursday's verdict includes $4 million for the boy's past pain and suffering and $12 million for future pain and suffering.

The four-day trial focused on the relationship between Amazon and Fly Fella and the question of who was ultimately responsible for the collision.

At Thursday's closings, Amazon attorney R. Dal Burton of Wilson Elser argued that a neighbor who had agreed to babysit the 8-year-old while he played at her house had failed to adequately supervise the child by allowing him to take and use an electric bike built for teenagers.

Burton told jurors that the boy's parents and the neighbor ignored warnings that the bike was for 13-year-olds under supervision. He also noted that the child took the unlocked bike from the garage after the neighbor returned to her house and left a group of children playing unsupervised.

“If [the boy] never had a chance to ride [the bike]then the accident never happens, he can't get on the road, he can't get in front of the van,” said Burton. “And if the accident never happens, [the child] is never hurt.”

In his closing argument, Wayne Satterfield of Hall Booth Smith, who represents Cowan and Fly Fella, told jurors that the evidence showed the delivery driver acted reasonably when he left the stop.

“He let the kids off the road, looked both ways and slowly started accelerating until he felt something under his van,” Satterfield said. “That's reasonable. He didn't violate his duty.”

But Goldberg told jurors that Cowan should have seen the boy riding the bike. And he argued that Amazon has control over nearly every aspect of Fly Fella's business, from driver pay to delivery procedures, and is therefore liable for Cowan's conduct.

Goldberg added that Amazon also failed to provide Cowan with adequate driver safety training before the accident, telling jurors that the company did not implement an appropriate safety training program until after the collision.

“You could have rolled that [training] from the beginning, and in fact they were required to do so. It was their responsibility to train drivers on what to do when they encounter children,” Goldberg said. “And they didn't do it.”

After the verdict, Goldberg praised the defense for their work, but expressed his displeasure with Amazon.

“Amazon's lawyers are good people and good lawyers. Unfortunately, Amazon itself is incredibly difficult to deal with. They refused to mediate and made us the first and only offer a week before trial and gave us one day to decide whether to accept it or not,” Goldberg told CVN in an emailed statement, adding that the child's father had rejected the offer.

“While I was making closing arguments, Amazon had its counsel send us the same offer in the form of a folded note, telling us we would have to accept it before closing arguments were completed,” Goldberg wrote, noting that the figure, which was confidential, was again rejected.

“Our client was the rock of our team,” Goldberg told CVN, “and I'm glad the jury saw it the same way we did.”

In a statement emailed to CVN, Fried praised Judge Jaletta Smith and her staff for their handling of the case. BHowever, he was critical of the defense's statements regarding the duty of supervision towards the child.

“Amazon has been pursuing our customer, [the child’s father]harshly, saying he wasn't properly supervising his child. It was a ridiculously unfair attack,” Fried said. “I can't help but think that this attack helped force the final verdict.”

CVN has contacted lawyers for Amazon and Fly Fella and will update this article with their comments.

Send an email to Arlin Crisco at [email protected].

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