Trial Magazine

Donald Gamble was stopped at a red light in his pickup truck when a dead pine tree situated on adjacent property fell over, hitting the truck. Gamble, 61, suffered two herniated disks in his cervical spine that necessitated fusion surgery approximately six months later, when he began to develop chronic pain and numbness in his right arm.

A veterinarian, Gamble is unable to work six days per week as he had done before he was injured. His economic damages and lost earning capacity are estimated at almost $908,800.

Gamble sued the landowner, alleging failure to remove the pine tree, which the plaintiff asserted had been dead and dangerous for three to five years. The plaintiff asserted that the defendant, not the tenant living on the property, had a duty to inspect the trees on the land and make sure they were safe.

The jury awarded $1.25 million.

Citation: Gamble v. Beal, No. 2016-CP-18-1208 (S.C. Ct. Com. Pl. Dorchester Cnty. Feb. 22, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Douglas Jennings, Bennettsville, S.C.; and AAJ member David Lail, Charleston, S.C.

Plaintiff experts: Oliver Wood, economics, Columbia, S.C.; Lindsay Moore, life care planning, Charleston; and Donald Ham, trees, Clemson, S.C.