WWE Loses Traffic Accident Lawsuit, Ordered To Pay Over $300K In Damages

Even with Major League Wrestling filing an amended lawsuit earlier this week, things have seemed pretty rosy regarding WWE's legal side, after the initial MLW lawsuit was dismissed, forcing said amendment. Alas, the good times are coming to an end, at least momentarily, as WWE learned this week that there was one lawsuit it couldn't win.

According to PWInsider, WWE came up on the short end in regard to a 2021 lawsuit filed by Jackson Parsons, over a traffic incident back in July 2019. The lawsuit saw some movement in mid-February, leading to a brief jury trial on February 27, followed by the verdict being delivered on March 3.

While the jury determined that Parsons' held 65 percent negligence for the incident, jurors concluded WWE held 35 percent negligence and thus ordered the company to pay Parsons $331,800 in damages. The amount of money was determined by the percentage of WWE's own negligence in the accident. Parsons' lawsuit revealed that he had sought $76,500 for "pain and suffering" and $401,500 for "future pain and suffering," ultimately falling $69,700 short of his goal.

Parsons was injured while on a bike ride after being struck by a van driven by WWE's Gaitan Thomas. Thomas, who WWE described in legal filings as an "independent contractor" with the promotion as opposed to an employee, was driving a company van at the time of the incident. Parsons underwent ankle surgery as a result of the crash. He later attempted to settle with WWE in December 2020, asking for over $1 million and filed the suit after a deal could not be reached.