In this powerful episode of Trial Bible, host Gennady Voldz sits down with trial attorney Brian Ward to break down one of the most emotionally devastating civil cases in recent memory.

A San Bernardino jury returned a $110.8 million verdict after finding that two young men were innocent victims of a deadly off-duty pursuit that ended in fire, catastrophic injury, and death.

Brian walks listeners through the case of D’Son Woods and Glen Bolden, two young men whose lives were forever altered after being chased by an off-duty corrections officer who escalated a brief encounter into a high-speed pursuit.

With no dashcam footage, no testimony from the officer, and major gaps in the timeline, Brian explains how his team built a liability case using policy manuals, focus groups, forensic reconstruction, and careful jury selection.

The conversation explores the strategic decisions that shaped the trial, including how to handle damaging facts like alcohol, how to avoid over-villainizing a defendant when vicarious liability is at stake, and how jury instructions can make or break a case.

Most importantly, Brian explains why securing a finding of zero percent comparative fault mattered more to the family than any dollar amount, and why some verdicts matter even before a check is written.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

• How to try a case when neither the driver nor the primary wrongdoer can testify
• Why making a defendant look “too extreme” can destroy vicarious liability
• How focus groups can reveal the exact line between credibility and overreach
• How to handle bad facts without letting them become the trial
• Why jury instructions can silently reshape deliberations
• How to present damages when the story spans months of medical torture
• Why verdicts can change a community’s narrative even when collection is delayed

KEY MOMENTS

- Introduction to D’Son Woods and Glen Bolden and the human story behind the case

- The gas station encounter and the moment the pursuit begins

- What the surveillance footage shows and what it never captures

- The off-duty officer, the uniform windbreaker, and why it mattered

- Focus group lessons that changed the liability strategy

- Voir dire in San Bernardino and addressing alcohol head-on

- The fight over peace officer authority and jury instructions

- The phase one verdict and the zero percent negligence finding

- The damages phase and how the jury arrived at nine figures

- Why the verdict matters even as the case moves into appeal

🧰 PJI / LEGAL FRAMEWORK DISCUSSED

* Vicarious liability and the going-and-coming rule

* Ratification as a theory of employer responsibility

* Comparative fault and zero negligence findings

* Damages proof in bifurcated trials

GUEST:

Brian Ward— Attorney

Website: https://www.tl4j.com/brian-ward/

HOST: 

Gennady Voldz– Plaintiff’s Trial Attorney

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gennady-voldz-esq-74414943/  

Voldz Law: https://voldzlaw.com/
 

CONTACT / SHARE A CASE: 

[email protected]

📩 Subscribe & Share:

If this episode resonated with you, forward it to a fellow trial lawyer or leave us a review. Because winning cases doesn’t just come from knowing the law—it comes from knowing the fight.