Latest Personal Injury Verdict News from Alabama

$70M Verdict - Alabama Jury Holds Tyson Farms Accountable in Flesh-Eating Bacteria Case

A Walker County, Alabama jury delivered a $70 million verdict on March 27, 2026, against Tyson Farms, Inc. and HydraService, Inc. after a boat repairman developed necrotizing fasciitis following a massive wastewater spill into the Black Warrior River. The verdict is the largest in Walker County history. Mark Griffin, a Dora, Alabama resident, has been battling the consequences of that exposure for nearly seven years. According to his attorneys, Griffin still has a bone infection and an open wound today.A Spill That Contaminated a Community's Drinking Water Source In June 2019, approximately 220,000 gallons of chicken rendering wastewater from a Tyson Farms facility in Hanceville, Alabama, spilled into the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. The wastewater included chicken heads, beaks, blood, bones, and intestines. The Alabama Department of Environmental Management determined the spill occurred when a temporary pipe system, rented from and maintained by HydraService, Inc., failed. The Mulberry Fork flows into the Black Warrior River, which serves as the primary drinking water source for much of Walker County, processed at the Laye-Williams Water Treatment Plant. The 2019 incident was the fourth spill from the Hanceville facility since 2011 and previously resulted in a $3 million settlement with the State of Alabama requiring Tyson to take corrective steps.Boat Repairman Develops Necrotizing Fasciitis Griffin was working as a boat repairman at the time of the spill. According to a statement from his attorneys, he began feeling ill shortly after the incident. Following multiple rounds of treatment and testing, doctors diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis, a severe bacterial infection that destroys the body's soft tissue. Court records detail the extensive medical procedures Griffin has endured in the years since. As of the verdict, his legal team confirmed he continues to deal with a bone infection and an open wound. Griffin filed suit in 2020 against Tyson Farms, Inc. and HydraService, Inc., alleging the contaminated wastewater caused his illness.Four-Week Trial, Record Verdict The trial lasted four weeks and featured testimony from more than a dozen witnesses. On March 27, 2026, the jury returned a verdict finding: Wantonness against Tyson Farms, Inc. Negligence against HydraService, Inc. The $70 million award surpasses the previous Walker County record of $10 million, set in a 2017 medical malpractice case handled by two of the same firms involved in this matter.The Legal Team Behind the Win Griffin was represented by two Alabama plaintiff firms working as co-counsel: Josh Vick and Dennis Goldasich of Goldasich, Vick & Fulk Attorneys at Law Bob Bryan and Clay Boylen of Nelson, Bryan, Boylen & Cross in Jasper, Alabama "Our firm has been honored to represent Mr. Griffin in this case," said Vick. "Mark is a great guy and unbelievably resilient. He's been through so much over the past seven years, and to be able to obtain this kind of result for him is simply incredible." Co-counsel Goldasich added: "We are extremely grateful to the jury for their hard work and attentiveness over the course of a four-week trial." Bryan called it "a historic accomplishment," and Boylen said the verdict was "a historic moment for Walker County."Tyson's Response and Ongoing Operations Tyson Foods, which owns Tyson Farms, Inc., issued a statement saying it respects the jury's decision but is "disappointed in the outcome," maintaining that the 2019 spill did not cause Griffin's injuries. The company extended sympathy to Griffin and pointed to infrastructure investments made at the Hanceville facility since acquiring it in August 2018, including permanent underground piping and new air scrubbers. WBRC reported that attorneys for Tyson Farms and HydraService did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.What This Verdict Signals for Environmental Liability Cases The Griffin verdict illustrates how juries respond when a defendant's conduct goes beyond ordinary negligence. The jury's finding of wantonness against Tyson Farms carries particular weight, reflecting a determination that the company's conduct was more than careless. For plaintiff attorneys handling environmental exposure and toxic tort cases, the outcome underscores the value of thorough preparation and willingness to take a complex case to trial. Plaintiff lawyers who handle verdicts of this magnitude in Alabama and across the country can showcase their results on Major Verdict, the only platform dedicated to publicly displaying plaintiff trial outcomes and notable settlements. If you or someone you love has been injured due to environmental contamination or toxic exposure, verdicts like this one reflect what juries are prepared to award when the evidence is strong and the legal team is prepared. Find a plaintiff attorney with a proven trial record at Major Verdict.

$50 Million Alabama Medical Malpractice Verdict: Jury Holds Cardiologist Accountable for Wrongful Death

A Mobile, Alabama jury has awarded $50,000,000 to the family of Dan Haas, a man who died in his sleep hours after his cardiologist sent him home from the hospital despite discovering a serious, life-threatening heart blockage. The verdict, returned after a 13-day trial, stands as a powerful statement on the consequences of failing to meet the standard of care in cardiac medicine. The case was tried by the plaintiff firm Cunningham Bounds, LLC, with offices in Mobile and Atlanta. The trial team consisted of attorneys Skip Finkbohner, Lucy Tufts, Dave Wirtes, and Carmen Chambers.A Family's Christmas Nightmare On December 24, 2020, Dan Haas came home from a hunting trip with severe pain between his shoulder blades and shortness of breath. On Christmas Day, he called his cardiologist, Dr. John Galla, to report his symptoms. According to the press release, Dr. Galla told Dan to take it easy and come in Monday for a stress test. Dan went to the offices of Cardiology Associates on December 28 with continued chest pain. The stress test results came back abnormal. On December 30, Dr. Galla performed a heart catheterization that, according to the lawsuit, clearly revealed a serious and life-threatening cardiac blockage. Rather than hospitalizing Dan and beginning treatment immediately, Dr. Galla sent him home. The cardiologist also cleared Dan for an elective eye surgery scheduled for the following week and instructed him to begin blood thinners only after that procedure. Dan Haas died in his sleep that same night, next to his wife.What the Experts Said Top cardiology experts retained by Cunningham Bounds testified at trial that if Dr. Galla had simply kept Dan in the hospital and administered routine blood thinners after the catheterization, Dan had a greater than 99% chance of survival. That testimony proved central to the plaintiff's case. The standard intervention, according to the experts, was not experimental or heroic. It was routine. The decision to send Dan home cost him his life. The plaintiff's trial team argued that Cardiology Associates failed to take the necessary steps to meet the required standard of care.The Defense Strategy and Its Failure Dr. Galla's defense took an unusual and ultimately unsuccessful position: that the contemporaneous medical records from Cardiology Associates, including entries Dr. Galla himself had made, were wrong. Attorney Skip Finkbohner addressed this directly in remarks following the verdict: "We relied on the contemporaneous medical records. They were accurate. The defense and their experts took the position these records were wrong. The jury spoke loudly about this, and the lack of care Dan received and the attempts to cover up the mistakes that were made." Finkbohner also noted that the Haas family had tried repeatedly to resolve the case before trial. According to his post-trial statement, the defense refused all settlement discussions and forced the matter to a jury. The jury spoke after 13 days of testimony.Five Years of Fighting for the Truth Dan's family, including his wife Barbara and their children Sarah, Carrie, and Daniel, spent more than five years pursuing accountability through the courts. Attorney Lucy Tufts reflected on what the verdict meant for the family: "The Haas family has been fighting to expose the truth of what happened to them for more than five years. This verdict affirms what they've known all along. Dan should have been admitted to the hospital. And if he had been, he'd be alive and here with them today." The Haas case underscores how a single clinical decision, the choice to send a patient home rather than admit them for observation and treatment, can be the difference between life and death. And how juries respond when they conclude that decision violated the standard of care.What This Verdict Signals A $50 million verdict in a medical malpractice wrongful death case is significant in any jurisdiction. In Alabama, where plaintiff verdicts of this magnitude are not common, the outcome reflects both the strength of the evidence and the preparation of the trial team. The case also illustrates an important dynamic in medical malpractice litigation: the power of a defendant's own records. When a physician's contemporaneous documentation contradicts his trial defense, the credibility gap becomes very difficult to overcome. The jury in Mobile made clear they were not convinced by the effort to rewrite the record. Cunningham Bounds has represented plaintiffs for more than 65 years, handling cases in serious personal injury, products liability, industrial accidents, and medical malpractice.Plaintiff Attorneys Who Win at Trial Belong on Major Verdict Cases like this one deserve a public record. Major Verdict is the only platform where plaintiff attorneys can display their trial results and notable settlements for the world to see, including potential clients searching for lawyers with exactly this kind of track record. If you are a plaintiff attorney with verdicts or settlements worth sharing, create your free profile on Major Verdict and let your record speak for itself. If you or someone you love has been harmed by a medical professional and want to find a plaintiff attorney with a proven record at trial, browse plaintiff lawyers on Major Verdict.