Pope & Howard, P.C. Co-Founder Secures Half Million Dollar Verdict
(November 17, 2014) ATLANTA, GA— Top Georgia trial lawyer Marc Howard, co-founder of Atlanta’s Pope & Howard, P.C. Law Firm, recently won a $569,000 verdict against the First Baptist Church of St. George Island, Florida, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee. Howard’s client, a church volunteer, suffered severe injuries, including a torn rotator cuff and herniated disc, when a dumbwaiter collapsed on her in the kitchen of the Church’s retreat center on St. George Island. The jury’s award represents one of the largest premises liability verdicts from this venue.
“I am very happy with the verdict,” Howard said. “The verdict amount is more than anyone told us we could expect in this venue, and we hope it will go a long way toward covering medical bills and pain and suffering.”
Howard’s client received her injuries while at a retreat center run by the First Baptist Church of St. George Island. “While attempting to retrieve a utensil stuck in a dumbwaiter, the dumbwaiter fell on her back and neck,” Howard explained. “Our client has had a tough time as a result of the retreat center’s negligence.”
Although the company that installed the dumbwaiter could have also been liable, that company is no longer in business, but the jury found the First Baptist Church of St. George Island, Florida, responsible because it had failed to maintain the dumbwaiter under the state Code.
This large premises liability verdict follows a recent $3 million verdict that the partners at Pope & Howard, P.C. won for their client in Fulton County, Georgia, earlier this year.
Howard, who co-founded Pope & Howard, P.C. with fellow trial attorney Geoff Pope in 2005, specializes in catastrophic personal injury cases. His areas of expertise include cases involving truck, car and plane accidents, as well as nursing home abuse, premises liability and much more. He is one of Georgia’s Super Lawyers and active in the state’s legal community, currently serving on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia.
About Pope & Howard, P.C.
The attorneys of Pope & Howard, P.C. are experienced trial attorneys dedicated to fairly representing clients for just compensation. Founded by Marc Howard and Geoff Pope in 2005, the Atlanta-based trial law firm specializes in tractor trailer accidents, construction site injuries, aviation accidents, and other personal and catastrophic injury cases. Visit the firm’s website online at www.popehoward.com to learn more.
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