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Electrocutions Cases

The Estate of Van Ryan Marcum v. The Shaw Group

Van Ryan Marcum was a 21-year old Army private in basic training when he was electrocuted after coming in contact with a metal latrine at Ft. Benning, GA. (more here) The metal latrine was near a firing range and was improperly grounded.

A private contractor, The Shaw Group, had recently entered into a contract with the Army for maintenance and repair at the base. Shaw contended that it had no duty to maintain the latrine because the Army had not notified Shaw of any problems.

The case was tried to a 12-person jury in Texarkana, Arkansas Federal District Court for six days in late 2006.  

The jury returned a verdict of $6.5 million and placed 25% of the fault on Shaw.  Recoverable damages against Shaw totaled in excess of $1.6 million.  This case was affirmed by the Eight Circuit case styled The Shaw Group v. Marcum 516 F.3d 1016 (8th Cir. 2008).

Chris Thomason was the referring counsel on the case out of Hope, Arkansas and was involved in the trial.  Bruce McMath and Will Bond were lead trial counsel.


The Estate of Jerry Matthew Johnson v. First Electric Cooperative Corporation, et al

The family of Matt Johnson won a $3.65 million verdict resulting from the electrocution of Matt on a billboard in Benton, AR in 2005. (more here)  Matt was a great young man who was electrocuted while trying to change the sign on a billboard.  Bruce McMath, Will Bond, and Sam Ledbetter represented the family in the case.