Why you should always avoid an accident- Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck

GON

GON

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I remember reading this a few years ago. I actually wrote Werner and sent condolences for what I think was a verdict that contradicted everything I knew about "who is at fault".

Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck.

A pickup on an interstate in Texas lost control, crossed the median and slammed into a 18 wheeler going the speed limit. Lots of serious injuries that are not treatable. horrible, tragic accident.

The plaintiffs trial attorney was trained by Jerry Spence. Spence essentially won every case he tried since the late 1960s. Spence even beat the feds on the Randy Weaver- Ruby Ridge case.... and the feds have unlimited resources and simply don't lose. A highly skilled and talented lawyer can do the impossible. Not a fight I ever want to be in....

Lots of licensed attorneys and not enough work out there. If you have money, even if you did nothing wrong, you are at risk.

www.thetruckersreport.com

Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck - TruckersReport.com

A fatal accident took the life of one child, paralyzed another, and caused extensive injury to two other passengers. The accident report found that a truck driver involved…
www.thetruckersreport.com www.thetruckersreport.com
 
Good friend of mine is ruined financially because in Virginia we have some kind of ridiculous law that states that even if you are 1% at fault in an accident, you can be sued. Friend was clearly not at fault in a bad wreck, but because he somehow could have avoided it he was forced to have wages garnished for forever.......
 
Barkleymut said:
Good friend of mine is ruined financially because in Virginia we have some kind of ridiculous law that states that even if you are 1% at fault in an accident, you can be sued. Friend was clearly not at fault in a bad wreck, but because he somehow could have avoided it he was forced to have wages garnished for forever.......
Click to expand...
No insurance at all, or just not enough?
 
I am a strong libertarian and to this day Ruby Ridge and the federal response was shameful. It sure seems Jerry Spence and his like are an extinct breed now. The government is even more powerful and very few will take them on. Spence did it multiple times and did it successfully. I've read everything I could on his cases.

While prepping for Thanksgiving on Wednesday I was listening to a podcast with Elon Musk (might have been a Rogan cast but not positive). The items that pop out and scare me are his thoughts on AI and his belief that within a decade we will have true autonomous vehicles. His description was you'll get in your vehicle and speak to where you want to go and that's it, you will be driven there without you actually "driving."

A lot of positives but plenty of negatives as well. I have concerns over the changes to laws over these changes as well. I have little faith in current lawmakers nationwide with what to me, is an utter lack of forethought in creating new law. There is such an ideological basis for too many of them. Ideological responses support some and stifle others. Laws should not work in that fashion.
 
Barkleymut said:
Good friend of mine is ruined financially because in Virginia we have some kind of ridiculous law that states that even if you are 1% at fault in an accident, you can be sued. Friend was clearly not at fault in a bad wreck, but because he somehow could have avoided it he was forced to have wages garnished for forever.......
Click to expand...
NY has the same ridiculous liability laws. For a few years, you couldn't lease a vehicle in NY. The way leases were handled had to change.
 
That is a fairly old story. (comments form 2018)

Wonder if they won on Appeal. Was it a Jury Trial?

I might actually have witnessed that accident at least the part where the truck exited the median on the wrong side of the interstate and struck the truck, if not that one - one very similar...
 
This is a jury decision, not so much a case of who is "at fault". In a civil case, there is a difference. Exact same situation with another jury could, and should, have the opposite outcome. Here, the plaintiff's lawyer did a better job of selecting jurors, those who would be sympathetic to the family and also "anti big, rich corporation" types.
 
This is the reason insurance companies don’t want to go to court. They prefer to settle as a jury trial can be a coin flip. Now the insurance carrier is likely on the hook for the $90M instead of paying policy limits of $1M or $2M. I’d bet there was an appeal or some state tort limits in place that reduce the $90M.

Edit-still pending.

www.tortreform.com

Werner Gets ‘En Banc’ Review of $89.7 Million Verdict

After a nearly three-year delay, a Texas appellate court has voted for all of its nine justices to take over an appeal of an $89.7 million lower court jury verdict against Werner Enterprises in a 2014 fatal accident that the motor carrier has steadfastly maintained was not its driver’s fault. An...
www.tortreform.com www.tortreform.com
 
That is just insane.

From this link, it does appear that there is still an appeal to be held. Article (at least on my search results) dates to August 2021: https://gielda-transportu.pl/swiat/92m-werner-verdict-from-2018-becomes-a-hot-potato-on-appeal/


GON said:
I remember reading this a few years ago. I actually wrote Werner and sent condolences for what I think was a verdict that contradicted everything I knew about "who is at fault".

Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck.

A pickup on an interstate in Texas lost control, crossed the median and slammed into a 18 wheeler going the speed limit. Lots of serious injuries that are not treatable. horrible, tragic accident.

The plaintiffs trial attorney was trained by Jerry Spence. Spence essentially won every case he tried since the late 1960s. Spence even beat the feds on the Randy Weaver- Ruby Ridge case.... and the feds have unlimited resources and simply don't lose. A highly skilled and talented lawyer can do the impossible. Not a fight I ever want to be in....

Lots of licensed attorneys and not enough work out there. If you have money, even if you did nothing wrong, you are at risk.

www.thetruckersreport.com

Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck - TruckersReport.com

A fatal accident took the life of one child, paralyzed another, and caused extensive injury to two other passengers. The accident report found that a truck driver involved…
www.thetruckersreport.com www.thetruckersreport.com
Click to expand...
 
The Werner verdict is just the tip of the iceberg. In the trucking industry they are known as "nuclear verdicts" and there have been many of them. The lawyers make serious bank and go off to look for another trucking accident that is a good candidate for them to sue and make more bank. Truck (carrier) insurance has increased tremendously in price over the last few years, since suing carriers has become the latest way for law firms to make a killing. Who ultimately pays for the circle drives, exotic cars, and vacation homes for the lawyers? Of course, you and I the consumer every time we buy anything.
 
Endless parade of these guys calling themselves The Hammer !
Well, guess a hammer can build or destroy things …
 
Hall said:
This is a jury decision, not so much a case of who is "at fault". In a civil case, there is a difference. Exact same situation with another jury could, and should, have the opposite outcome. Here, the plaintiff's lawyer did a better job of selecting jurors, those who would be sympathetic to the family and also "anti big, rich corporation" types.
Click to expand...

I would add to a better job of selecting jurors with what was most likely a much better-presented case by Plaintiff over what the D presented. The US recently saw two high-profile cases litigated. The prosecutor in WI was horrendous and not only presented a truly abomination of a case but was also very condescending and frivolous with individual rights. His presentation of that case will be used in law school for decades of what not to do.

The prosecutor in the GA case was the polar opposite. She presented a thorough case and came across as thoughtful and truly seeking justice. That is how it is supposed to work. And she clearly spent time with the prosecution witnesses and knew their story.

These cases highlight some change that is needed. I'd really like to see prosecutor reform. The DA win at all costs mantra needs to end. DA's routinely refuse cases that if they end in trial would be difficult to win so they skip it. This subterfuge is not how the system is supposed to work. Withholding video, statements, photographs, online info is done all the time and it is not in the interest of the justice the average American would feel is warranted. Start with criminal end and move into the civil end.

We all know there are billions of $$$ lobbied to Dem and Rep to ensure this type of reform is always stymied. So instead government attacks issues like bail reform, which is proven to put all citizens in harm's way.
 
RhondaHonda said:
This is the reason insurance companies don’t want to go to court. They prefer to settle as a jury trial can be a coin flip. Now the insurance carrier is likely on the hook for the $90M instead of paying policy limits of $1M or $2M. I’d bet there was an appeal or some state tort limits in place that reduce the $90M.

Edit-still pending.

www.tortreform.com

Werner Gets ‘En Banc’ Review of $89.7 Million Verdict

After a nearly three-year delay, a Texas appellate court has voted for all of its nine justices to take over an appeal of an $89.7 million lower court jury verdict against Werner Enterprises in a 2014 fatal accident that the motor carrier has steadfastly maintained was not its driver’s fault. An...
www.tortreform.com www.tortreform.com
Click to expand...
I'm not sure about Werner, but at the trucking company I work for (much larger than Werner), we are self insured. So the sky is the limit unfortunately.
 
Nick1994 said:
I'm not sure about Werner, but at the trucking company I work for (much larger than Werner), we are self insured. So the sky is the limit unfortunately.
Click to expand...
I think I read the 90M exceeded Werner's insurance policy limit, so they had a direct liability. If memory is correct, Werner listed the liability from the 90M judgment in one of the quarterly reports.
 
Nick1994 said:
I'm not sure about Werner, but at the trucking company I work for (much larger than Werner), we are self insured. So the sky is the limit unfortunately.
Click to expand...
Yeah I bet you are right. I had to look at the Werner truck to refresh my memory. They are a decent size company. I was thinking a small owner/operator outfit with a few trucks would typically have a few million in liability. Self insuring at their size probably saves them in the long run, even with an occasional large verdict. Blame the judicial system and personal injury attorneys for a $90M judgement when the pickup was the cause of the accident. The deep pockets make them targets.
 
The last part of the article says it all! We live in a bizarre world right now. I guess I don’t understand how the argument of the truck shouldn’t have been on the road but the pickup truck was fine…

“If an accident like this is the fault of the driver who was hit by the out of control vehicle, think about what that means for every motorist on the roads,” said Meisgeier.

I hope an appeals judge sees fit to overturn this ruling. It really is sad for the family but the driver and company don’t appear to be at fault.

Just my $0.02
 
BISCUT said:
While prepping for Thanksgiving on Wednesday I was listening to a podcast with Elon Musk (might have been a Rogan cast but not positive). The items that pop out and scare me are his thoughts on AI and his belief that within a decade we will have true autonomous vehicles. His description was you'll get in your vehicle and speak to where you want to go and that's it, you will be driven there without you actually "driving."
Click to expand...
I was in San Francisco last Sunday and counted 8 Waymo vehicles going by a single intersection while we were waiting for someone to meet us and drop off a package.

waymo.com

Self-Driving Car Technology for a Reliable Ride - Waymo Driver

The Waymo Driver is our self-driving car technology. Get a safe, reliable ride from The World's Most Experienced Driver.
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