Injured motorcyclist wins $6.3 million verdict against MARTA
A Fulton County jury has awarded more than $6.3 million in damages to a motorcyclist who was badly injured when he collided with a MARTA bus.
Christopher Morgan, then 21, was driving his 2006 Suzuki motorcycle to work on Panthersville Road when a MARTA bus turned left out of a parking lot, cutting Morgan off. It occurred in rainy, dark conditions at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2017.
The collision left Morgan with a “severe and catastrophic knee injury,” said Miguel A. Dominguez, who tried the case with co-counsel Keith Mitnik. Morgan would eventually need three surgeries on his knee and incur medical expenses of more than $397,000, according to court records.
In high school, Morgan was one of the state’s top wrestlers, played baseball and football, and he was hoping to become a professional mixed martial arts boxer, Dominguez said.
“His life as an athlete is over,” Dominguez said. He added that Morgan sunk into depression after the wreck because he had lost his identity as an sports athlete.
At trial, MARTA lawyers argued that Morgan did not apply his brakes quickly enough to avoid the collision, Dominguez said. “But the driver neglected to look left when it mattered most. And the jury agreed with us.”
The jury awarded $6,397,178 to Morgan. On its verdict form, jurors found that Morgan was 10 percent at fault for what happened and that the MARTA defendants were 90 percent at fault.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
