A Greensboro jury awarded $15 million to Cole Rogers, a man who nearly lost his leg after an incident on a popular motorbike track. Rogers was represented by Clark, Smith & Sizemore, LLC of Macon, Georgia. The award is the largest ever by a jury in the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit.

The incident happened on December 13, 2014. When landing a jump, Rogers, 15 at the time, was veered slightly off the track by other drivers and did not have complete control of his motorbike. He struck an unprotected, unmarked edge of a metal culvert pipe resulting in his leg being almost entirely severed from his body.

Rogers’ attorneys were Christopher Clark, Michael Smith, and Richard Sizemore, of Clark, Smith & Sizemore, LLC. The most important component in the case was video evidence taken from Rogers’ GoPro camera strapped to his helmet. The defendants initially testified the culvert was covered properly, but later admitted to covering the exposed culvert after the incident before law enforcement arrived at the scene.

The defendants argued Rogers’ father signed a liability waiver and release form before riding, and by doing so, Cole assumed some risk of injury. The defendants also stated Rogers was partly at fault for veering off the track. During the trial, the defendants retracted claims of the culvert being properly marked and protected and continued to push that there was a signed waiver and release form, both of which could never be produced.

The final verdict found the defendants committed gross negligence.

Clark, Smith & Sizemore, LLC is proud to represent the Rogers family and represent those who have suffered serious injuries facing legal issues by fighting for clients and the compensation they deserve.