Flanagan Law’s $99.9 Million Trucking Verdict Lands on National Top 10 List for 2025
An Atlanta trial firm’s landmark verdict in a fatal trucking collision has earned a spot on TopVerdict.com’s national ranking of the ten largest motor vehicle accident verdicts in the United States for 2025. The Fulton County jury’s $99.9 million award — believed to be among the largest trucking verdicts in Georgia history — places ninth on the list and also appears on the platform’s Top 20 Wrongful Death Verdicts and Top 100 Verdicts compilations for the year.
The Verdict and Its National Recognition
TopVerdict.com compiles annual rankings of the largest case results obtained by attorneys and law firms nationwide, limited to cases tried to a verdict before a state or federal jury and ranked by result size. The 2025 list tags the Flanagan Law case under truck accidents, rear-end collisions, and highway accidents.
The recognition underscores a case that proceeded through a two-phase trial culminating on March 20, 2025, after years of litigation spoliation disputes and evidentiary battles. Both the trucking company and the plaintiffs have since appealed to the Court of Appeals of Georgia, with Brendan Flanagan listed as counsel on both appeals.
| Case Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Verdict Date | March 20, 2025 |
| Total Verdict | $99.9 million |
| Compensatory Damages | $66.25 million (full value of life + estate pain and suffering) |
| Additional Awards | Punitive damages and attorney’s fees (Phase 2) |
| TopVerdict.com Rank | #9 — Top 10 Motor Vehicle Accident Verdicts 2025 |
| Additional Listings | Top 20 Wrongful Death Verdicts 2025; Top 100 Verdicts 2025 |
| Jurisdiction | Fulton County, Georgia (State Court) |
Anatomy of a Landmark Trucking Case
The underlying tragedy occurred in 2017 on Interstate 20 near Fulton Industrial Boulevard, where a tractor-trailer traveling at highway speed struck a disabled passenger vehicle, killing the man inside. The victim’s family brought a wrongful death claim against the trucking company, alleging negligence in the operation and maintenance of the commercial vehicle.
What began as a rear-end collision case evolved into a complex litigation battle over evidence preservation. The firm reports that the trucking carrier scrapped the tractor-trailer before the family’s experts were scheduled to inspect it, and that dash camera data and the driver’s hours-of-service logbooks were lost or destroyed.
The Spoliation Finding That Shaped the Outcome
A pivotal moment came during the trial’s second phase, which addressed spoliation — the legal term for the destruction or failure to preserve evidence relevant to litigation. In a 27-page order, the court found that the carrier had a duty to preserve the truck, its dash camera data, and the driver’s hours-of-service logbooks, and that it failed to meet that duty.
“The court’s spoliation finding was critical. When a trucking company destroys the very evidence that could prove what happened — the truck itself, the camera footage, the logbooks — it tells a jury everything they need to know about accountability.”
After hearing evidence of how the company handled the post-crash evidence, the jury added punitive damages and attorney’s fees to the compensatory award, pushing the total to $99.9 million.
Why Evidence Preservation Matters in Truck Litigation
Brendan Flanagan, the firm’s founder and principal attorney, emphasized a point that resonates throughout the trucking litigation community: the evidence clock runs faster than the statute of limitations.
“A police accident report is only a starting point. Georgia’s comparative negligence rule reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share of fault. Proof decides these cases, and in a truck case nearly all of that proof sits with the trucking company. Cameras get erased, trucks get repaired or scrapped, and witnesses move, so evidence collection and witness statements cannot wait. Evidence runs on a shorter clock than the statute of limitations.”
This reality drives the firm’s practice of preparing serious cases for trial from day one, with immediate focus on spoliation letters, expert inspections, and data preservation demands sent to carriers and their insurers within days of a crash.
The Legal Team Behind the Verdict
Flanagan served as first chair at trial. A graduate of Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School (J.D.) and admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2014, he founded Flanagan Law, P.C. in 2015 after representing injured people throughout his career. Morgan E. Lyndall, a former insurance defense attorney, served as co-counsel — a background the firm says provides insight into how carriers evaluate and defend claims.
“Insurance companies pay attention to the lawyers who are ready to go in front of a jury,” Flanagan said. “We prepare serious cases for trial from the beginning, with a focus on evidence, expert work and jury presentation.”
Appeals and What Comes Next
Both sides have appealed the verdict to the Court of Appeals of Georgia. The trucking company challenges the liability and damages findings, while the plaintiffs have cross-appealed on issues related to the trial court’s rulings. Appellate briefing is underway, with oral argument likely in 2026 or 2027.
Georgia appellate courts review jury verdicts for legal error and whether the evidence supports the award. Punitive damages awards are subject to particular scrutiny under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-5.1, which caps punitive damages at $250,000 in most cases — though exceptions exist for product liability and certain intentional conduct. The spoliation-related punitive award here may test the boundaries of that statute.
About Flanagan Law, P.C.
Founded in 2015, Flanagan Law, P.C. is an Atlanta-based personal injury trial firm representing injured people and families across Georgia. The firm’s practice areas include:
- Car accidents (rear-end, hit-and-run, uninsured motorist claims)
- Commercial truck and tractor-trailer crashes
- Rideshare (Uber/Lyft) collisions
- Motorcycle and bus accidents
- Wrongful death and fatal wreck representation
The firm operates from its Sandy Springs office at 5855 Sandy Springs Circle, Suite 301, Atlanta, GA 30328 and can be reached at (404) 480-4474 or info@bflanlaw.com.
Disclaimer: Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. This article summarizes publicly reported information from a press release dated October 23, 2026, and the TopVerdict.com 2025 rankings. The appeals are pending; the final outcome may differ from the trial verdict.
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