R. Shane Lazenby. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

A jury that watched video of the tragedy awarded $21 million for the family of a man killed while he was out for a walk and a truck driver passed out at the wheel.

The winning lawyer, R. Shane Lazenby of Lazenby Law Group in Gainesville, said Thursday the jury took 39 minutes to return a $15  million verdict: $13 million for the life of Kip Holland and $2 million for his pain and suffering, plus $30,000 for medical and funeral expenses.

Then the jury deliberated for another hour and a half before returning with a $6 million verdict to cover the family's litigation expenses based on a 40% contingency fee agreement, he said.

The case was tried in four days before Senior Judge Richard Story of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Lazenby said. The verdicts came on Feb. 6.

Grant B. Smith of Dennis, Corry, Smith & Dixon in Atlanta defended the driver, the late James Wendell Harper, and Cypress Insurance Co. Smith could not be reached immediately for comment. But his voir dire questions in court records foreshadowed his strategy.

"Our defense in this case is based on the Act of God defense on the ground Mr. Harper did not have a history of passing out," Smith said to the jurors. "However, he had a number of health issues, including cancer and COPD. Without hearing more, are any of you concerned you might tend to favor the Plaintiff—even if just a little bit?"

"It was an odd defense," Lazenby said. "The statute lists lightning strikes and perils of the sea." The issue was whether the incident was foreseeable, he said.

According to his voir dire questions, Smith went on to tell the potential jurors to "expect evidence to show Mr. Harper had a number of medical conditions before the Dec. 8, 2016, collision—including throat cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease also known as COPD, arthritis, and pneumonia. Expect evidence to show Mr. Harper passed out before the collision."

Harper, who lived in Groveoak, Alabama, died just seven months later. He was 77. His health problems played a continuing role in the trial.

The defense summary in the consolidated pretrial order said Harper "made a mistake on his DOT questionnaire and failed to list certain medications and conditions, but these did not affect his ability to drive on the day of the accident and had nothing to do with his sudden and unexpected fainting spell just before the collision."

The failure to list those medications and conditions formed the basis of the $6 million attorney fee award. The jury agreed with the plaintiffs' side that such a failure constitutes bad faith on the part of the driver, Lazenby said.

Lazenby's work on the case is not finished. Harper's Cypress Insurance policy limit was $1 million. But Lazenby said he will pursue a bad faith claim against the company, since it declined several policy limit settlement demands.

Lazenby, 47, is a former Army Ranger and paratrooper. After graduating from Mercer University law school in 1999, he returned to active duty, serving as a judge advocate and counsel to his commander in Afghanistan, helping gather intelligence. He earned a Bronze Star for his service during Operation Enduring Freedom. When he returned home to Georgia, he worked for defense firms, first in Atlanta and then in Gainesville, for a decade before switching to the plaintiffs' side and starting Lazenby Law in 2013, located in a renovated house near the shore of Lake Lanier.

About 4 miles away is the spot where Harper lost control of his truck on a busy section of Ga. 369, known as Brown's Bridge Road, and hit Holland. Lazenby said Holland's family came to the Lazenby Law office just four days later. It was December 2016.

"I'm glad I went out to the scene that day. It was still marked," Lazenby said. "I just stood where Kip got hit. I just turned around in a circle and looked at everything real slowly."

He spotted a business nearby, a marble company that is not there anymore. He went there to see if they had security cameras. They did. Within hours, he had three videos showing exactly what happened, he said.

Holland was walking along the road between his home, just 500 feet away, and the nearest grocery store. The truck's trailer—filled with chicken feed—separated and rolled off the road over Holland. He was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, where he was pronounced dead that same day. He was 50.

Lazenby played the video for the jury—after asking the judge's permission to let Holland's family leave the courtroom.

"What you see on the video is him walking. You see him stop in his tracks. You see the truck coming. The trailer rolls over the top of him," Lazenby said. "He's just gone. It was very powerful."

Proving damages—mainly the value of Holland's life—was as crucial as proving liability for his death. Lazenby said Holland was intellectually disabled and had lived his whole life in the same house with his mother—the case's plaintiff—and brother—his estate's executor. Holland had never been employed. He had done yardwork and other small jobs for neighbors, who came to court to testify as damages witnesses, talking about their friendships and his kindness.

"The best quote was from his niece," Lazenby said. She told the jury, "'Kip had a lot of limitations. That's true. But he had no limitations on his character.'"

Lazenby said he told the jurors, "There's a whole lot more to the value of life than how much money you make."

He also said he told them, "You will be wondering for the rest of your life whether the driver of the truck next to you lied on his DOT questionnaire."