Doug Peterson of Keating, O’Gara, Nedved, & Peter recently received some great news for his clients Jake Wagner (pictured at left) and Gail Fickle, Jake’s mom.
On July 20th, the Nebraska Supreme Court handed down a historic decision in Fickle v. State of Nebraska which involved a 1999 accident wherein Jake was catastrophically injured due to the negligence of the State in failing to remove or repair a traffic signal in Schuyler, Nebraska which was known to produce conflicting green lights.
In the original trial, the judge found that Jake, who has been left permanently disabled and 
confined to a wheelchair due to his injuries, and his mother, Gail Fickle, who brought the case on his behalf, had suffered damages in excess of four million dollars. The State had appealed arguing that it was not liable for the accident.
The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the finding of the trial court that the State was, in fact, liable because it had notice of the dangerous double-green malfunction. The Court also found that the damages were insufficient and must be increased in a retrial of the damages issues.
In a rare move, the Court ordered in its opinion that the future medical damages and lost income damages should be in excess of $8,500,000. In addition, the Court stated that the past and future pain and suffering damages which the trial court fixed at $500,000 were clearly inadequate and “did not bear a reasonable relationship to the injuries Wagner sustained.†The Court ordered that the case be remanded to the trial judge for a further hearing on damages.
The case represents the largest award for personal injuries ever rendered against the State of Nebraska Department of Roads and one of the biggest Nebraska verdicts for personal injuries.
If you have been injured due to the negligence of another, call the experienced personal injury attorneys of Keating, O’Gara, Nedved, & Peter at 888/234-0621 or fill out the “Contact Us” form in the upper left-hand portion of this page.
Court: Judgment was insufficient
By Leslie Reed, Omaha World Herald, July 20, 2007LINCOLN — A Schuyler man said Friday’s Nebraska Supreme Court ruling represents justice for the “hell” he said his life has been since Valentine’s Day 1999.
That’s when a crash caused by a malfunctioning stoplight turned Jacob Wagner, then 16, from someone who loved hunting and fishing and being outdoors into a person who will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life.
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said Wagner may need more than $9 million to compensate him and his mother, Gail Fickle of Schuyler, for medical bills, future lost earnings and pain and suffering.
That amount is more than twice what a lower court had ordered the Nebraska Department of Roads to pay for not fixing the light.
“It’s Nebraska’s fault I’m in this wheelchair,” Wagner said at a press conference in his attorney’s office after the ruling. “I was happy because that told me that me and (attorney) Doug (Peterson) had beat the big boys.”
Wagner suffered severe brain damage in the crash, which has left him — even after years of therapy — with difficulty speaking, limited use of one arm and no use of the other, double vision and unable to walk.
Fickle said the additional damages would give her son options he might not have had otherwise. He can get medical care that Medicaid might not have paid for. The family can get a new wheelchair van.
He might even get a specially modified four-wheeler that would enable him to get back outdoors.
The award also will ensure that he continues to get care for life, Fickle said. Doctors have said he may live into his 60s.
“It’s been a long, hard haul,” she said. The accident “just shattered our lives.”
Witnesses said the traffic light at U.S. Highway 30 and Nebraska Highway 15 in Schuyler was simultaneously displaying green to southbound and westbound traffic at the time of the crash.
Wagner was driving his car south when a westbound semitrailer truck owned by Metz Baking Co. hit him. Three passengers in Wagner’s vehicle were not seriously injured.
Peterson, Wagner’s attorney, said his clients hope the case will prompt state officials to change how they respond to reports of highway problems.
“What makes this so tragic is the state had notice of the problem. Jake’s injuries are a byproduct of their neglect,” Peterson said.
In a statement, Roads Department officials said they were analyzing the decision and reviewing their options. They declined to comment further.
The Attorney General’s Office also declined to comment on the decision.
The Supreme Court agreed that the Roads Department was at fault for not fixing the traffic light despite repeated complaints that it showed green in conflicting directions at the same time.
The ruling sent the case back to Colfax County District Court to recalculate damages.
“We conclude that the evidence supports a finding that Wagner will suffer a much greater amount of future economic damages than was awarded by the district court,” said the opinion written by Judge John Wright.
The court also concluded that Wagner’s pain and suffering award — set by District Judge Mary Gilbride at $500,000 — was insufficient.
“Wagner’s injuries were catastrophic and permanent and the award of $500,000 for noneconomic damages does not fairly and reasonably compensate him for his pain and suffering,” Wright wrote.
According to evidence at the trial, three Roads Department employees said they had been told of the problem — although they found nothing wrong when they checked the signal.
Four members of the public said they noticed the problem in September and October 1998 and reported it to the state. A Roads Department employee confirmed receiving two of those complaints.
In defending the department, the Attorney General’s Office said that some maintenance had been performed on the light in August 1998 and that the department had not been notified that the light was malfunctioning on the day of the crash.
Reprinted with permission from the Omaha World Herald.
(This article may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, displayed or distributed for any other purpose without further permission from the Omaha World Herald. Copyright ©2007 Omaha World-Herald®. All rights reserved.)
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One Comment
I think this young man deserves everything that can be gotten for him. His life is ruined and so is his mother’s. I have known Jake since birth and his mother for almost 40 years and they are wonderful people. I know that Gail only wants the best for Jake and will see that any compensation will be used for making his life easier & more enjoyable.