View this article online: https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/southcentral/2012/05/07/206308.htm
A Texas jury has awarded $24 million to a woman who was hit by a Coca-Cola truck driver who was chatting on a cellphone while driving.
The jury decided Friday that 37-year-old Vanice Chatman-Wilson should get $10 million in punitive damages and $14 million in actual damage for the 2010 accident that left her with severe neck and back pain.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Coca-Cola plans to appeal.
Wilson’s attorney Thomas J. Henry says his client underwent lumbar surgery after the accident.
Coca-Cola’s policy says drivers must use a hands-free device if using a cell phone while driving.
Truck driver Vanessa Cabral testified that if she had known the risks of talking on the phone while driving she would not have done it.