Hernshaw man gets $2 million verdict after losing leg in accident

CHARLESTON - A Kanawha County man has been awarded $2 million from a jury after he sued a local gas station and a trucking company when he lost his right leg in a 2005 accident.

Joe Meadows, of Hernshaw, was injured June 13, 2005, when he was run over by an 18-wheel truck at a Go-Mart in Marmet.

The truck ran over Meadows as it was pulling out of the station after making deliveries.

Meadows sued Go-Mart and J.T. Davenport and Sons, a North Carolina-based trucking company.

During the trial before Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Duke Bloom, the jury heard evidence that Meadows had been drinking at the time of the accident.

The jury decided Go-Mart was 33.34 percent responsible, Davenport was 33.34 percent responsible and Meadows was 33.32 percent responsible.

Therefore, in the $3 million verdict, because Meadows is partly responsible, he will collect only $2 million.

Attorneys Bill Forbes, Jesse Forbes and Roger Decanio represented Meadows.