Patterson Buchanan Wins Favorable Verdict for City of Gig Harbor

After a four-week trial, a Washington jury in Pierce County Superior Court on March 11, 2010 handed down a favorable verdict in a negligence case against the City of Gig Harbor. The plaintiff in the case alleged that her car accident was caused by the city’s negligence in failing to provide motorists with adequate warning of a tree that was partially suspended on power lines on a road in the aftermath of the Hanukkah Eve Wind Storm of 2006, the worst storm to hit the Pacific Northwest region in over a decade. She alleged numerous physical injuries, a traumatic brain injury, and inability to return to work in any meaningful capacity. Patterson Buchanan attorneys Pat Buchanan and Amy DeLisa argued that under the extreme conditions following the storm, the city’s signage was appropriate and drivers needed to exercise caution on the roads.

At the close of the trial, the plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award $3.4 million to $3.9 million in damages. Instead, the jury found that the plaintiff’s own negligence greatly outweighed the city’s, resulting in a net verdict of $270,000. This award was less than what the city had offered the plaintiff to settle the case and avoid the expense of going to trial in the first place.

The case is Wright v. City of Gig Harbor.