A Utah jury delivered an $81 million verdict on March 13, 2026, in the retrial of a wrongful death case brought by the family of Michael Madsen, an 11-year-old boy struck and killed by a truck in a Provo crosswalk in 2018. The award is believed to be the largest civil verdict in Utah history, surpassing the previous state record of $25 million.
The verdict came at the end of a hard-fought retrial that began March 2. The first trial had ended in a defense verdict.
What Happened to Michael Madsen
In 2018, Michael Madsen was struck and killed by a truck while crossing in a marked crosswalk in Provo, Utah. The driver, Rusty Cope, was employed by Allied Building Products at the time of the collision.
The Madsen family alleged that Allied hired a dangerously inexperienced driver with a checkered safety record, and that Cope sped into the crosswalk. The defense countered that Michael ran in front of the truck, pointing to video surveillance footage that showed the boy running as he entered the crosswalk.
How the Jury Broke Down the $81 Million
The jury's award was structured as follows:
- $33 million to each of Michael's parents
- $7.5 million to each of two friends who witnessed the collision
The breadth of the award reflects the jury's recognition of harm extending beyond the immediate family, compensating two young witnesses who saw their friend killed.
A Defense Offer of $1 Million, Then a $81 Million Verdict
Just before closing arguments, the defense made a settlement offer of $1 million. The Madsen family declined.
The jury's verdict triggered a flurry of negotiations during deliberations. According to plaintiff attorney Sean Claggett of Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers, the parties reached an undisclosed settlement that required the verdict to be finalized before the agreement could close. The settlement will preclude any appeals, bringing the eight-year legal fight to an end.
"While the jury was deliberating there was a frenzy of negotiations," Claggett said, "and we were able to reach an agreement that required the deal to be finalized."
The Trial Strategy That Turned the Case Around
The outcome of the retrial hinged significantly on jury selection and trial strategy, according to Claggett.
In the first trial, the defense verdict stood. In the retrial, Claggett waived all peremptory challenges and accepted the first ten qualified jurors. He credited that decision as central to the different result.
"The biggest difference in the two cases was jury selection and having the jury really understand that the law in Utah requires them to judge the actions of our deceased client who was an 11-year-old boy," Claggett said.
On the central factual dispute, Claggett took an unconventional approach: rather than disputing the surveillance footage showing Michael running into the crosswalk, he leaned into it.
"We just owned this fact and used the defense expert to explain that it is normal for people to run into the crosswalk once the walk signal illuminates," he explained. Using the defense's own expert witness, Claggett argued that runners entering a crosswalk on a walk signal are acting lawfully, and that the burden falls on the driver, not the pedestrian.
Claggett also drew on experience from a prior Nevada case he tried, where a jury assigned the child victim 27 percent fault in a similar crosswalk collision. He structured his Utah presentation specifically to prevent that outcome.
Local counsel Blake Johnson of Johnson Livingston Personal Injury LLC supported Claggett at trial. The defense was represented by Jones Skelton & Hochuli, P.L.C., with attorney Ruth Shapiro delivering the closing argument for the defense.
A Record Verdict in a State Not Known for Large Awards
The $81 million figure is striking not only for its size but for where it happened. Utah is not typically associated with outsized jury verdicts. Claggett addressed that directly.
The verdict surpasses the previous Utah civil verdict record of $25 million. Claggett's pre-trial data analysis, which he described as a rigorous process involving focus groups to vet cases before committing to trial, drove his decision to take the Madsen case to a Utah courtroom.
Major Verdict Tracks Outcomes Like This One
Results like the Madsen verdict represent exactly what Major Verdict was built to surface. Major Verdict is a national membership platform where plaintiff personal injury attorneys publicly display their trial verdicts and notable settlements, creating a searchable record of real case outcomes for both legal professionals and the general public.
Plaintiff attorneys who want to put their trial results on the record can create a free profile on Major Verdict. Members with standout verdicts like this one can upgrade to a Featured Member profile for greater visibility. The public can browse attorney profiles and verdict histories to find lawyers with proven track records in cases similar to their own.
