Estate of Terry M Novak v. Nicholas R Toth

── Estate of Terry M Novak v. Nicholas R Toth ── Court: Michigan Court of Appeals Date: May 21, 2026 Category: General If this opinion indicates that it is “FOR PUBLICATION,” it is subject to revision until final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports. STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS JESSICA AYERS, Personal Representative of the UNPUBLISHED ESTATE OF TERRY NOVAK, May 21, 2026 10:50 AM Plaintiff-Appellee, v No. 371716 Wayne Circuit Court NICHOLAS TOTH and FSS TECHNOLOGIES LC No. 22-001968-NI LLC, Defendants-Appellants. Before: RIORDAN, P.J., and O’BRIEN and YOUNG, JJ. PER CURIAM. Terry Novak1 suffered severe injuries as a result of being struck by a vehicle owned by defendant FSS Technologies, LLC and driven by defendant Nicholas R. Toth, while Novak was snow blowing his driveway. Following a jury trial Novak was awarded $20,595,570.66 in damages. Defendants appeal as of right and we affirm. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND At about 2:30 p.m. on February 3, 2022, Toth was driving a white van that had “FSS Technologies” written on the side. Toth was traveling eastbound on Pennsylvania Road in Romulus. At that time, Novak was outside snow blowing his driveway, which was located on the north side of Pennsylvania Road. As Toth approached Novak’s house, he lost control of the vehicle, fishtailed a bit, crossed the center line, at least partially crossed the white fog line on the north side of the road, and struck Novak in the back. The impact caused Novak to bend backward 1 Novak was the plaintiff in this case, but when he passed away several months after trial, Jessica Ayers, as personal representative of Novak’s estate, was substituted as a party. See Estate of Novak v Toth, unpublished order of the Court of Appeals, entered October 2, 2024 (Docket No. 371716). -1- with his legs swinging up, sliding up the hood, and striking his head on the windshield.2 Novak’s legs continued to swing upward, and his body went 8 to 10 feet into the air, performing two reverse somersaults, before landing face-first on the snow-covered ground. Toth got out of the van and, along with a neighbor who came to assist, helped Novak to his feet. During this time, Novak’s fiancée and her friend came out of the house to lend aid as well. Within 10 minutes, first responders arrived. But despite being told to remain, as the sirens of those first responders could be heard, Toth rushed back to the van and left the scene without identifying himself. Novak was briefly rendered unconscious from the collision and did not recall what happened. Novak was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury; fractures to the right rear side of ribs 8, 9, and 10; fractures on the front left side of ribs 6 and 7; and a Chance fracture to vertebrae T9 of the thoracic spine.3 Also damaged from the collision were Novak’s liver, heart, and lungs.4 EMS transported Novak to the hospital, where Dr. Fred Junn, a neurosurgeon, performed surgery on Novak’s thoracic spine on February 6, 2022. Dr. Junn fused Novak’s T8 through T11 vertebra together by using a combination of bone, metal plates, and screws. Novak was discharged from the hospital on February 10, 2022. Novak suffered from chronic pain afterward. Trial testimony established it was likely that the pain would never go away and would only get worse, and the risk of re-injury would increase as Novak aged, affecting him every day for the rest of his life. Novak experienced a radiating pain down his right leg after being discharged from the hospital. In January 2024, Novak underwent a second s