WEST VIRGINIA RECORD

WINFIELD – A Putnam County man has been awarded nearly $2.5 million for injuries he sustained in a 2006 auto accident.

Nicholas Paul Browning was awarded $2,247,738.10 in damages in a civil case against Yordan v. Kopchev and Alliance Transportation Group LLC, according to a Sept. 29 order signed by Putnam Circuit Judge O.C. "Hobby" Spaulding.

Browning, who lives in Hometown, was injured on April 11, 2006, when a vehicle driven by Kopchev and owned by Alliance, based in Illinois, hit his vehicle at the intersection of W.Va. 25 and the eastbound entrance ramp to Interstate 64 in Nitro, according to the original complaint.

Spaulding's judgment order indicates that neither Kopchev nor representatives for Alliance showed up for a Sept. 25 hearing on the matter. Browning and his attorney, D. Scott Tyree, were there. The order says the defendants were properly served and given notice of the proceedings.

Browning presented his case, after which Spaulding announced the verdict.

Browning was awarded nearly $46,000 for past medical expenses and $400,000 for past pain and suffering. He was given more than $285,000 for future lost earnings capacity, nearly $119,000 for future lost household services and nearly $1.4 million for future pain and suffering.

That total doesn't include interest, which could push the total closer to $2.5 million.

Putnam Circuit Court case number: 07-C-16