John Davis, Michael Williams and Elizabeth Sandoval of our Houston office secured a defense verdict on August 30, 2019 in an 18-wheeler trucking accident lawsuit filed in Fort Bend County, Texas. After a nine-day trial and an hour of deliberation the jury exonerated the client trucking company and its driver. Plaintiffs requested $3.5 million from the jury.
Plaintiffs alleged that they were moving 20-25 mph as they were attempting to merge to the left lane in order to get around a mattress obstructing the road. Plaintiffs alleged that an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer rig operated by defendant’s employee struck them from the rear at a high rate of speed. The truck driver claimed he was in the left lane when a white car cut in front of him to avoid hitting plaintiffs and cut him off. Having lost adequate following distance and braking room, the truck driver claimed he took evasive action while braking to try to avoid the white car. As he entered the right lane, he saw the plaintiffs parked and then tried to “thread the needle.” He ended up side swiping the white car and rear-ending plaintiffs. Plaintiffs underwent ESIs, nerve blocks, a laminectomy, and a 360-degree fusion. The medical testimony indicated that one plaintiff would likely need a second fusion. Plaintiffs claimed past medicals of $720,000 and future medical via a life-care plan of $450,000.
The jury place 75% negligence on the unknown person who abandoned the mattress in the lane and 25% fault on the white car that cut off defendant’s driver.
