Jerrod Bishop v. AVR Express LLC et al

On March 6, 2024, the Tennessee jury delivered a $4.5 million verdict in favor of the decedent's father, Jerrod Bishop after finding the trucker liable for auto negligence. However, the jury also attributed 35% fault to the decedent, thereby bringing the award down to $2,925,000.

Case Background

On March 21, 2022, Jerrod Bishop filed a negligence lawsuit for the wrongful death of his son before the United States District Court, Tennessee Western Division, Memphis. This case was assigned to Judge John Thomas Fowlkes and referred to Chief Magistrate Judge Tu M. Pham. [Case number: 2:22-2171]

Cause

On the morning of August 8, 2021, Jared Bishop, age 25, had just completed his shift at Federal Express. At around 9:00 a.m., he drove westbound on Shelby Drive, a road with three lanes in each direction and a center turn lane. Bishop was driving a bright blue 2015 Dodge Challenger with a modified Hellcat engine. He enjoyed driving fast and was traveling at 144 mph, as recorded