Personal Injury Law

Jury Awards $1.5M in Truck Crash Case

By Jeffrey Lowe

Last week, a Texas jury awarded $1.5 million to two men who were hurt when a semi crashed into their car, the Associated Press reports.

In 2006, Ronny Martinez, 37, and Kenneth O?Neal, were driving down a highway in Texas when a tractor-trailer struck their car.

The two men filed a personal injury suit against the truck driver and the trucking company, Indiana-based Celadon Trucking Services. A jury concluded that Celadon negligently hired the truck driver and that its driver caused the crash. The jury also concluded that Martinez, who was driving at the time of the collision, also partially caused the accident.

The jury awarded $750,000 for medical bills and another $750,000 for pain and suffering and personal injuries.

The Associated Press also notes that in 2005, the same trucking company paid $1.25 million to the family of a soldier who was killed when his car rear-ended a stalled semi stopped on a Texas highway because a brake hose had failed. The husband-wife driving team had tried to repair the hose with a toothpick wrapped with tape.

Fault in a truck accident may involve driver error, driver negligence, negligence on the part of the company that hired the driver, negligence on the part of the company that owns the trailer, or all three.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, more than one-fourth of the truck drivers who are involved in fatal crashes in 2004 had at least one prior speeding conviction. Seven percent of truck drivers had a previous license suspension or revocation and some had prior felony convictions. Many trucking companies negligently hire drivers with bad driving records because they want to move cargo at the cheapest possible price.

Drivers and passengers in cars suffer the majority of injuries when they collide with large trucks because of the weight difference between the two types of vehicles. Cars weigh an average of 3,500 pounds, while large commercial trucks (known as semis, eighteen wheelers, and tractor-trailers) can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with their loads. In car-truck collisions, 98 percent of the fatalities were persons in the cars.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Full post as published by Trucking Accident Attorney Blog on October 03, 2008 (boomark / email).