Man’s tumble into Kansas culvert brings jury award

A man who fell into a storm drainage culvert in Junction City, Kansas, won nearly $3.5 million from a Geary County jury.

Andrew Goodwin of Goodwin Johnston in Kansas City said his client, Sean Smith, had taken a shortcut to the ATM at a neighboring bank when he fell into the 8-foot-deep culvert on the night of Christmas Eve in 2019. Smith injured his right frontal lobe and suffered three skull fractures and a broken T11 vertebrae.

The culvert is located in an unlit area just 12 feet from the sidewalk on a busy street, Goodwin said, and it has no fence or warning signs.

Goodwin said the city initially denied that the culvert was within its right of way, and that when documents clearly showed it was, they argued they had no duty to maintain the culvert.

Joshua Cervantes of Cummings McClorey, Davis & Acho, an attorney for the defense, didn’t reply to an email seeking comment. According to Goodwin, the city argued at trial that it could not make safety improvements to the culvert without approval from the Kansas Department of Transportation.

The city also argued that Smith fell because he was intoxicated, as he had a blood alcohol concentration of approximately .230 at the time.

Jurors awarded about $2.7 million in economic damages and more than $720,000 in noneconomic damages. However, it assessed 40 percent of the fault for the accident to Smith.

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$3.46 million verdict (out of state)

Personal injury

Breakdown: $2,737,813 in economic damages, $722,545 in noneconomic damages

Allocation of Fault: 60 percent to city, 40 percent to plaintiff

Venue: Geary County, Kansas, District Court

Case Number/Date: GE-2021-CV-000199/March 8, 2024

Judge: Keith Collett

Last Pretrial Demand: $500,000 (KTCA statutory cap)

Last Pretrial Offer: None

Plaintiffs’ Experts: Dr. Randall Benson (neurologist); Stella Frank (vocational rehabilitation); Tracy Wingate (life care planner); Dr. William Rogers (economist)

Defendant’s Experts: Dr. Robert Paul (neuropsychologist); Dr. Joshua Shimony (neuroradiologist); Dr. Tony Rianprakaisang (toxicology)

Caption: Sean Smith v. City of Junction City, Kansas

Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Andrew Goodwin and Matthew Johnston, Goodwin Johnston, Kansas City

Defendant’s Attorneys: Joshua Cervantes and Jay Gillen, Cummings McClorey, Davis & Acho, Kansas City