Yesterday we reported on a legal malpractice case in which the attorney "helped" the client to get insurance payments, but did not bring a personal injury action against the pilot or the owner of the private plane which crashed into plaintiff’s house.

Today the Poppe Law Firm Blog reports that "In one of the largest legal malpractice verdicts in Kentucky history, a jury returned a verdict today against attorney Steve Keeney for $5 million. The allegations of legal malpractice arise out of his handling of a case for Brenda Osborne, of Middlesboro. The Jefferson Circuit Court jury determine that Keeney lost a federal court case stemming from the an airplane accident in which she could have recovered about $1.3 million (this is known as the "case within a case." It awarded her that amount, as well as $250,000 for mental anguish. The jury also voted 11-1 to award of $3.5 million in punitive damages, which are meted out to deter and punish intentional and willful misconduct.

This was an unusual case because Osborne was not physically injured when a small plane crashed into her home. She escaped her home without physical injury–however, Keeney told her the case was worth about a $1 million. This jury agreed with her; however, it’s Keeney’s legal malpractice insurance company that will have to pay the verdict, not the pilot of the plane. "