A jury has found First Energy/Ohio Edison negligent and awarded a Union County woman more than $27 million.
Following nine days of trial, the jury found in favor of Lisa Jones awarding her $27.6 million.
“She was very happy,” said attorney Barbara Luke of Marysville. “We are humbled and grateful that the jury understood the catastrophic injuries suffered by our client and the permanent impact they will have on her and her family.”
Jones sued First Energy/Ohio Edison for negligence. About 7:43 p.m., July 13, 2012, Jones was on Route 739 near Marion when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a utility pole. Because there were no witnesses and Jones’ cannot remember the crash, officials do not know what caused it.
“Drugs were not involved. Alcohol was not involved. She didn’t do anything wrong,” said Luke. “She wasn’t speeding. There is no indication she was texting. There is just nothing to indicate what happened.”
The crash caused electric lines to fall on top of the woman’s car, trapping her and her 3-year-old son inside.
Emergency responders, including a MedFlight helicopter, arrived quickly. During the trial it was revealed that responders waited 52 minutes for an Ohio Edison official to arrive at the scene and clear the power line so Jones and her son could be safely freed.
The jury heard recordings of two different First Energy call center operators speaking with a dispatcher from the sheriff’s department. On the tapes, First Energy officials can be heard repeatedly unable to identify or locate their utility pole. Officials said it took the power company more than 30 minutes to confirm the pole was theirs and to start a rescue crew to the scene.
Once Jones and her son were extracted from the car, Jones was flown to the Ohio State University Medical Center’s trauma unit. While she was on the operating table to repair her lacerated spleen, Jones went into cardiac arrest and lost oxygen to her brain for 11 minutes.
“It is a miracle they were able to save her life,” Luke said.
Jones suffered permanent brain damage and according to her attorneys is unable to work, to care for herself or help care for her son.
Luke and co-counsel Brian Miller told the jury the 52-minute delay by the power company way excessive and unnecessary. They argued that if First Energy had gotten to and cleared the scene quickly, Jones would not have suffered the brain injury. During the trial, experts testified that if Jones had access to medical attention 10 minutes earlier, she likely would not have suffered the brain injury.
“First Energy thinks their response time was just fine. It’s not fine,” Luke told the jury in closing arguments. “Someone needs to tell them it’s not fine and you have the power to do that.”
Defense attorneys for First Energy argued that substandard care at OSU’s trauma department caused Jones’ brain injury.
The jury, three men and five women, heard nine days of testimony from dozens of experts and witnesses. They reviewed more than 100 exhibits. The jury awarded Jones $3.6 million in compensatory damages for the loss of her future wages as a nurse, $9.7 million for the cost of future care since Jones will require 24-hour care for the rest of her life, and $20 million for “pain and suffering” and the intangible losses brought on by injury. Additionally, the jury awarded $1 million for the loss suffered by Jones’ son.
Jones was actually awarded 80 percent of the jury verdict because the jury found her 20 percent responsible for the brain injury because she failed to control her vehicle.
“We drive on the roads all the time and these power lines are everywhere,” Luke said. “They need to be able to identify their own poles and lines and be able to help when a driver is in need.”
Officials believe this could be the largest negligence award in Union County History.
“We are disappointed in the decision and we are currently evaluating our options at this time,” Mark Durban, communications manager at First Energy, said.