$10 million settlement; Inattentive truck driver causes deadly intersection crash

Action: Settlement

Date: Oct. 11, 2024

Date of incident: April 3, 2023

Nature of claim: Vehicle collision leading to death

Injuries alleged: Decedent killed by head injury on impact

Amount: $10 million

Name of case: Withheld

Case number: Withheld

Court: Withheld

Tried before: Mediator

Name of mediator: Kurt Rozelsky, of Spencer Fane, Greenville

Demand: Withheld

Highest offer: Withheld

Attorneys: Paul Hammack and Jamie Ackermann, of Hammack Law Firm, Greenville (for the plaintiff)

Decedent, the driver of a passenger car, had come to a controlled stop at an intersection. Defendant driver was driving a tractor trailer. He was distracted by talking on a phone and failed to pay attention to the road for at least 15 seconds after the traffic signal turned yellow and 10 seconds after it turned red. He braked about 1 second before impact.

The collision crushed the rear of decedent’s car and killed him upon impact.

During a canvass of the area, investigators for plaintiff’s counsel obtained a video of the event that showed decedent’s controlled stop and the rear-end collision seconds later.

Aggravating factors included defendant driver not being trained by his company in the required Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, spoliation of evidence (the phone being used the date of the crash), defendant driver failing to take full responsibility for the crash and defendant driver attempting to shift blame by arguing that decedent braked sharply and stopped suddenly at the light.

There was no survival claim, and decedent did not work, ruling out economic damages. There was significant punitive exposure which plaintiff’s counsel uncovered through discovery. There was an impasse at mediation, but the case was settled a week later.

Plaintiff in the case was the adult child of decedent.