Lawsuit from Columbus man seeks $10 million for traffic accident injuries

A Columbus man is asking for more than $10 million in damages after he says a 2023 vehicle collision left him seriously injured, according to a lawsuit shifted to federal court Friday.

Jeffery Watson originally filed suit June 6 with the State Court of Muscogee County against Californian James Butcher, his South Carolina-based employer Awesome Amusements and company’s insurer T.H.E Insurance Co. The lawsuit also mentions an unidentified man for being responsible and “causing the back-up traffic.”

According to the suit, Watson was driving his pickup truck eastbound on Interstate 16 and slowed down when he approached traffic. A police vehicle with emergency equipment activated was at the bottom of an exit ramp.

Butcher, who was driving a semi-truck behind Watson “at a high rate of speed,” suddenly smashed into the pickup truck, causing the truck and Watson to suffer damage and injuries, the suit said. According to the collision report filed by the Bryan Sheriff’s Department, Butcher admitted that he saw Watson’s vehicle and was unable to stop.

The lawsuit claims Watson was “violently jerked and twisted in his vehicle, resulting in serious injuries to his head, neck, back, shoulder, knee and body as a whole,” which resulted in medical care, surgery and treatment that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Watson is requesting a jury hear the case.

Awesome Amusements, Butcher and the T.H.E Insurance Company have responded to the suit, asking for its dismissal since they had not been lawfully served by Watson. They also argued that the damages sustained were of Watson’s own negligence and that “there is no clear and convincing evidence” to support the case.