Trucking Company and Driver Found Negligent for Injury Accident and Settle for $18 Million
Plaintiffs in a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit settled their case for $18 million after a jury found that the tractor trailer driver and trucking company were negligent in causing an accident that resulted in the death of four family members. In Missouri in 2006, a 61 year old tractor trailer driver failed to stop his vehicle and slammed into a line of cars stopped on the highway tossing them aside and causing four deaths and many injuries, according to the article on Kansascity.com.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs sued the tractor trailer driver for the deaths and injuries alleging that the tractor trailer driver was negligent for failing to stop and driving too many hours without taking the required time off to rest. Lawyers for the plaintiffs also sued the trucking company that hired the driver alleging that the trucking company was negligent in hiring a driver that was not qualified to safely drive the tractor trailer. Apparently, the tractor trailer driver had a prior conviction for reckless driving and speeding while driving a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer driver also had health problems as he had a heart attack and stroke several years before the accident and also had non-insulin dependent diabetes. On the date of the accident, the tractor trailer driver was also taking several prescription medications. As a result of these aggravating factors, the lawyers for the plaintiffs were able to make a claim that the jury should award punitive damages against the company for their negligence in hiring that driver. Punitive damages may be allowed in a case when the court initially, and then the jury, decide that the conduct of the defendant was so reckless and in disregard for the safety of others that the defendant should be punished financially as a result. In other words, if the jury found that the trucking company was grossly negligent or reckless in hiring this driver to operate a tractor trailer and as a result, this injury and wrongful death accident occurred, the jury could decide to award a large amount in punitive damages against the defendant. Punitive damages in such cases can be awarded in the millions of dollars on top of the damages already awarded to compensate the plaintiffs for medical expenses, loss of companionship and support, pain and suffering, lost wages and other elements of damages depending on the type of case. In this case however, the plaintiffs and defendants settled the case before the jury decided the issue of punitive damages.
Trucking companies have a duty to properly screen their applicants who seek jobs as tractor trailer drivers. The companies are supposed to check their driving histories to make sure the applicants do not have any red flags, such as reckless driving or speeding in a tractor trailer convictions. Trucking companies are also supposed to have a medical professional examine the applicant to make sure he or she is physically fit to drive. A recent heart attack and stroke and taking various medications may be factors that disqualify a person from driving a tractor trailer for long periods of time. Finally, truck drivers and companies are required to follow the rules limiting the number of hours a truck driver can drive and be on duty consecutively. When a truck driver drives over hours, he or she gets fatigued and is more likely to cause an injury accident. In this case, it appears that those requirements were not followed. As a result, a tragic accident occurred resulting in serious injuries and deaths, and the tractor trailer driver and his trucking company, or at least their insurance company, paid a price.
