A jury recently awarded Niki Bell with a $30 million verdict for injuries she sustained in a horrific boating accident on Lake Oroville.
Twenty-seven year old Niki Bell was left permanently injured after a boating accident almost five years ago. In 2006, Bell and several other friends were riding in the bow of a MasterCraft X45 when the boat slowed to turn and dumped Bell and another woman, Bethany Wallenburg, into the water.
Traveling at a speed of 3-to-5 mph, the 24ft boat slowed to retrieve a fallen wake-boarder that it was pulling. The excessive size of the bow caused it to dump the two women into the lake. Bell suffered a traumatic head injury after the boat propeller sliced through the front lobe of her skull and ripped out her left eye. Bethany Wallenburg, the second injured boat victim, was slashed across the back, arm and leg by the boat propeller.
The boat's driver, Jerry Montz, was arrested after the boating accident and pleaded no contest to recklessness and negligent operation of a watercraft vessel. Evidence during the trial indicated that Montz had been drinking at the time of the accident and registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.04%.
According to the personal injury attorneys representing Bell, a flaw in the boat's design caused it to dip into the lake. The plaintiff lawyers alleged MasterCraft combined two existing boats and never engineered it. By enlarging the size of the bow of the MasterCraft X45 it allowed more people to fit on the bow of the boat though if it dipped, as it did in this case, water would pour in. There were a total of 19 people on the boat at the time of the accident, however, Montz (the driver) allowed 12 people to sit on the bow of the boat.
The California jury returned a $30 million verdict in favor of Bell and a $500,000 to Wallenburg. The jury cited MasterCraft with 80% responsibility for the damages and Montz, now 33, with 20% responsibility.
According to Bell's mother, Niki is living independently and working part time but will require a lifetime of treatment.
Farris, Riley & Pitt is a personal injury law firm in Birmingham, Alabama representing injured clients and their families. For over 15 years, the personal injury attorneys at Farris, Riley & Pitt have represented clients injured in auto accidents, boating accidents, motorcycle accidents, nursing home abuse, trucking accidents and child related injuries. For more information on the types of cases we handle or for information on how we can help you, contact us toll free at 1-888-580-5176 or 205-324-1212.
You can also contact us through our legal call-in show, LawCall, which airs live every Sunday night on Fox 6 WBRC at 10:30 p.m.
