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The Des Moines Register, Thurs., Feb. 28, 1985, page 3A NICHOLS MAN, 29, GETS $3.5 MILLIONBy Gary Heinlein A Nichols man has been awarded $3.5 million in a lawsuit that stemmed from a 1979 accident in which he was struck by a car while walking along a county road after dark. An order signed Feb. 20 by Muscatine County District Judge Hobart Darbyshire says Jon Kevan Chown is entitled to payment for medical expenses, suffering and lost income incurred since he was struck by a car driven by Mary Meacham, also of Nichols. Chown, 29, whose legs are paralyzed, also received a private settlement last year from University Hospitals in Iowa City, where surgeons repaired a rupture of his aorta caused by the accident, said his attorney, Tom Riley of Cedar Rapids. Riley said he cannot disclose the amount of the University of Iowa settlement under the terms of an out-of-court agreement. Chown had claimed his paralysis was partly the result of surgery to save his life. Surgeons clamped off a portion of his aorta, depriving his spinal cord of its oxygen supply, said Riley. Riley said Chown's accident occurred Dec. 7, 1979, when his vehicle skidded off a county road into a farm field. Chown was walking along the road to seek help when he was struck by the Meacham vehicle, Riley said. No charges were filed against Meacham. Riley said Meacham did not have insurance at the time of the accident, meaning that Chown may be unable to collect the damages. Meacham could not be reached for comment. Riley said Chown now is studying drafting at Scott County Community College in Davenport. He said Chown married after the accident and Chown's wife, Mary, works as a physical therapist at a Davenport hospital. Chown's lawsuit was tried before Darbyshire after Chown waived his right to a jury trial. Meacham did not appear at the trial, and Darbyshire's verdict was based on testimony from Chown and Berkley Brandt III, associate professor of surgery at University Hospitals, said Riley. Darbyshire said Chown's medical expenses totaled almost $104,000, and Chown would accumulate $79,000 in additional expenses for wheelchair equipment and medical supplies during the rest of his life. Darbyshire projected lost earnings for Chown, who was forced to give up a "successful" welding business, at almost $2 million. He also awarded Chown slightly more than $1 million for disability and suffering. Tom Riley Law Firm, P.L.C.
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