Week before last there were two civil trial going on in Warren County Circuit Court at the same time. In Bougois v. Magnolia Marine Transport the jury returned a plaintiff’s verdict of $1,697,000. The plaintiff injured his back on a barge in 2001 when he was 42 years old. He had two surgeries and was permanently disabled. he alleged that Magnolia Marine failed to provide him with a dolly that he needed to safely perform his job, leading to his injury. The plaintiff’s attorney was Kelly Loyacono of Vicksburg. Defense counsel was Ernie Lane of Oxford.
The other trial was a med-mal case with a lawyer as the named plaintiff. The jury returned a defense verdict for the doctor.
These two verdicts illustrate the fact that it is easier to obtain information about plaintiff verdicts than it is for defense verdicts. Defendants win as many trial as plaintiffs, perhaps more. But the cases that make it into the newspaper are the ones involving large awards to the plaintiff.