A Georgia high school cross country coach who was struck by the rearview mirror on a truck during a morning team training run in September was awarded a $1 million settlement Monday as compensation for her pain, suffering and extensive medical bills.
As reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chestatee cross country coach Stacey Merck was awarded her $1 million settlement as a result of a lawsuit she filed against driver Eric Stover, whose Dodge Ram struck Stover on the grass alongside a highway when the vehicle allegedly strayed off the roadway.
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One of Merck’s attorney’s pegged her medical bills for extensive facial surgery and rehabilitation at $150,000 and rising. While the coach and teacher has made an impressive recovery and is now back in the classroom, she still has lost much of her vision in her right eye and still has cosmetic facial scarring.
Stacey Merck was hit by a passing truck while on a training run with student athletes (Photo: WSB)
Stover’s insurance company allegedly imposed a $100,000 limit on his policy, with Merck’s ruling awarded to 10-times that number. While the financial benefits should make Merck’s life easier, the fact that the case ruled in her favor also served as a moral reinforcement that she had done nothing wrong.
“In my 22 years of practice, there’s nothing better than getting a good result for such a deserving client,” attorney Jon Pope, one of Merck’s lawyers, told the Journal-Constitution. “She’s a wonderful lady, a great teacher, a great coach.”