$600,000 settlement

Attorney Brad L. Blake

An elderly couple injured after their pickup collided first with a service truck parked in a highway lane and then with a tractor-trailer have settled their personal injury claims for $600,000.

On Jan. 24, 2006, a service truck owned by Trucking Company One was southbound on Interstate 55 near Arnold, Mo. A ladder on the service truck fell off, and the driver stopped his truck in the middle of the highway lane, instead of pulling onto the shoulder, to retrieve it.

At about 1 p.m., John Doe, 81, and his wife, Mary, also 81, were southbound on the highway. When John Doe unexpectedly came upon the parked service truck in the middle of his highway lane, he tried to move over to the right, but his attempt was blocked by two 18-wheelers: a phantom truck followed closely by a semi owned by Trucking Company Two.

The Does ’ vehicle struck the right rear of the service truck and spun into the right lane. Trucking Company Two ’ s tractor-trailer then smashed into the driver ’ s side of the Does ’ vehicle.

John and Mary Doe sustained life-threatening injuries in the accident and were taken to St. Anthony ’ s Medical Center after the accident.

Mary Doe sustained rib fractures, multiple pelvic fractures and a lacerated liver. She was hospitalized for 32 days and experienced several serious medical complications, including acute respiratory failure, a buildup of bloody fluid in her chest cavity that had to be drained with the use of a needle and two chest tubes, the potentially fatal condition known as pneumothorax, pneumonia, hemorrhagic shock, anemia and aggravated depression.

After she was discharged, Mary Doe remained at her home in Cape Girardeau for only three days before being admitted to Southeast Hospital for another nine days. She continues to suffer pain as a result of her pelvic injuries, her preexisting anxiety and depression have become difficult to manage since the crash, and her physicians testified that overall functioning has declined by approximately 15 to 20 percent.

John Doe was hospitalized for 22 days. He sustained several broken ribs and three lumbar fractures. Like his wife, John Doe endured a variety of complications while hospitalized, including acute respiratory failure, a buildup of bloody fluid in his chest cavity that had to be drained with the use of a needle, pneumonia, an intestinal obstruction and anemia.

After his discharge, John Doe struggled with rehabilitation, and he was eventually admitted to a nursing home for four weeks of intensive therapy. Although Doe walked unassisted before the accident, he now requires a walker and cane. Before the accident, Doe had successfully completed all the tests needed that would have qualified him for a kidney transplant. As a result of the injuries he sustained in the crash, he did not requalify for a transplant until 20 months after the accident. According to his physicians, his overall functioning has declined by about 20 percent.

John and Mary Doe filed a personal injury lawsuit against Trucking Company One and its driver, as well as Trucking Company Two and its driver, in St. Louis County Circuit Court on Nov. 28, 2006.

The Does alleged that the Trucking Company One and its driver were negligent when the driver parked his truck in the middle of a busy interstate. They also alleged that parking in the middle of a highway demonstrated a conscious disregard for the safety of others and merited punitive damages.

The Does claimed that Trucking Company One and its driver were negligent because the ladder was not properly secured to the truck, a weathered cord was used to tie the ladder to the truck, and two tie downs were not used to secure the ladder, even though federal regulations require them.

In their claims against Trucking Company Two and its driver, the Does alleged that the driver was following too closely behind the phantom 18-wheeler. They also alleged that if the trucks had been farther apart, the Trucking Company Two driver could have avoided crashing into them. Finally, the Does alleged that the company failed to adequately train its driver.

The defendants denied the allegations. They asserted that the Does were speeding and that their inattentiveness caused the accident. However, the event-data recorder on the Does ’ pickup revealed that the vehicle was going just 40 mph when it struck the service truck.

The plaintiffs ’ human behavior and response expert testified in a deposition that a motorist ’ s chances of coming upon a vehicle parked in the middle of a highway were 1 in 1.8 million. Because this would have been such an unusual and unexpected event, it would have been difficult for most drivers to perceive that the service truck was stopped.

The case was mediated by Circuit Judge William Corrigan on Jan. 3. Without admitting liability, Trucking Company One agreed to pay the couple $540,000 to settle their claims. Trucking Company Two agree to pay the couple $60,000. The settlement was finalized on Feb. 6.