A Fulton County jury awarded $850,000 to a man who suffered head and neck injuries that required surgery nearly a month after his pickup truck was rear-ended at a stop light.

Attorney Jonathan Pope said the length of time between the wreck and his client's complaints of lower back pain led to complications as the defense raised causation issues. Another wild card was the defendant driver's refusal to participate in much of the case, culminating in his absence from trial.

The plaintiff driver's uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance carrier, a party to the litigation that filed a cross-claim against the defendant, took over the defense in his name just before trial.