Forklift driver Curtis Jackson's Range Rover sustained less than $1,500 in damages from a scratch in an accident. But his lawyers won a verdict in excess of $700,000 for his injuries on Jan. 12, following a four-day trial before Gwinnett County State Court Judge John Doran.

Solo R. Michael Coker and Makenzie “Mac” McAllister of Bross McAllister & Williams explained how they did it in an interview with the Daily Report Friday.

“Our client made a huge difference,” Coker said. Jackson, 52, is a native of the South Georgia city of Albany who moved to Gwinnett County in metro Atlanta about 15 years ago. In addition to his construction work, he and his wife moonlighted with a cleaning business, taking care of businesses and corporate offices. The lawyers said the jury related to Jackson's story of struggling with neck and lower back pain after he was hit from behind in Gwinnett County on Sept. 9, 2014.

“This was a man who took great pride in his work,” Coker said. “We approached it from a pain and suffering point of view.”

Still, Jackson's lawyers acknowledged they faced some high hurdles. First of all, Jackson's Range Rover appeared to have nothing but a scratch on the back bumper. A repair estimate came in at $1,424.

Plus, Jackson had what the defense called in its pretrial order summary “an array of pre-existing conditions.” Jackson had a history of health problems—hypertension, diabetes, stroke—and a fall six weeks before the wreck that hurt his back, his lawyers said.

The driver who hit him made a sympathetic defendant, according to Jackson's lawyers. Blair Zakas was a teenager on her way home from Greater Atlanta Christian School in heavy traffic, according to the defense summary, which said her vehicle merely “made contact with” his.

Zakas was defended by Robert Luskin and Elissa Haynes of Goodman McGuffey. Luskin said Friday that he could not comment without his client's approval.

But the other side had high praise for the quality of the defense.

“I don't think we could have asked for better opposing counsel,” McAllister said. “They were extremely ethical and straight up.”

“They were both extremely professional,” Coker said. “It was our client that made the difference.”

It also helped that Jackson had a primary care doctor who made a credible witness, they said. She told the jury that, although he had pain registering 8 on a 1-10 scale after the fall, she did not think for a minute that his fall caused the spinal injury that led to surgery nearly a year after the wreck, Coker and McAllister said.

It also helped Coker and McAllister that they were able to gain an admission on cross-examination from a defense expert that, even though it might not seem likely, he had many patients in his own practice who had sustained serious back injuries from low impact collisions.

Another important factor for the winners was that the jurors “took their oath very seriously,” Coker said. They deliberated for 10 hours, returning a verdict for $734,563 at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday evening.

“At the end of the day,” said Coker, “they used our equations to calculate damages.”

The case is Jackson v. Zakas, No. 15-C-05853-S6.