Why you should always avoid an accident- Who Is At Fault When A 4-Wheeler Hits A Truck? $90m Verdict Says The Truck
- Thread starter GON
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Remember, it was a jury verdict. The prosecution had to convince the jury that Werner was a horrible company that recklessly let that truck barrel down the road when conditions were treacherous and by awarding the plaintiff a huge verdict, they would be protecting millions of innocent americans from the same terrible fate. The truck didn't have an outside air temperature gauge, which is how they hung Werner. The prosecution claims that had the truck had an outside air temperature gauge, then the driver would have known the road could be slippery and being that he was a safe driver, he wouldn't have been on the road. See how that works? Sounds reasonable to a jury, no? The other million cars on the road that day in TX weren't on trial. Payday for the lawyers.
Werner was at a distinct disadvantage going in... it is a corporation and I'm sure the perception is that it is a huge corporation...
The poor lady is there (I'm sure) with her paraplegic child, having lost a child and with a TBI I understand - something must be done some one must pay - Werner had the misfortune to be the faceless corporation at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Plaintiff lawyers will call insurance people to testify about irrelevant stuff just to get the fact that the defendant is insured into evidence - they aren't allowed (usually) to say "hey just give my guy some money the defendant won't actually have to pay it he's insured" Same deal here I bet - big faceless corporation can afford to help this poor lady out... completely irrelevant they weren't at fault...
It would be nice to think juries always consider all the facts and follow the law but I would bet this one was just looking for an excuse to help the poor lady out, if they even needed one.
That is my guess anyhow...
And I do feel sorry for the lady it sounds like a horrible accident and a really really bad situation - I just don't think Werner should be her GoFundMe account.
Meanwhile State of Arkansas lets a drunk driver out after 8.5 years of a 25 year sentence where he left a motorcyclist for dead on I40 after running him over AND he had already killed someone else driving drunk...
Right and wrong has little to do with our Justice system I'm afraid....
I'll stop now...
The poor lady is there (I'm sure) with her paraplegic child, having lost a child and with a TBI I understand - something must be done some one must pay - Werner had the misfortune to be the faceless corporation at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Plaintiff lawyers will call insurance people to testify about irrelevant stuff just to get the fact that the defendant is insured into evidence - they aren't allowed (usually) to say "hey just give my guy some money the defendant won't actually have to pay it he's insured" Same deal here I bet - big faceless corporation can afford to help this poor lady out... completely irrelevant they weren't at fault...
It would be nice to think juries always consider all the facts and follow the law but I would bet this one was just looking for an excuse to help the poor lady out, if they even needed one.
That is my guess anyhow...
And I do feel sorry for the lady it sounds like a horrible accident and a really really bad situation - I just don't think Werner should be her GoFundMe account.
Meanwhile State of Arkansas lets a drunk driver out after 8.5 years of a 25 year sentence where he left a motorcyclist for dead on I40 after running him over AND he had already killed someone else driving drunk...
Right and wrong has little to do with our Justice system I'm afraid....
I'll stop now...
4WD
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America has a serious lawyer problem - but nobody talks about that because as Shannow always wrote - “look at that bunny over there” - (and what kind of bunny these days) …
The case is still very much alive, no money has been paid "judgement is still outstanding" (assuming that is what this means)
Werner is appealing and even that has been messed up by the courts. It is certainly a horrible story but I personally find it incredible that a jury awarded this money at all. I suspect it will get knocked down, if not completely thrown away? It just seems so incredulous
Here is the update as of 8-2-21
finance.yahoo.com
www.ttnews.com
Werner is appealing and even that has been messed up by the courts. It is certainly a horrible story but I personally find it incredible that a jury awarded this money at all. I suspect it will get knocked down, if not completely thrown away? It just seems so incredulous
Here is the update as of 8-2-21
$92M Werner Verdict From 2018 Becomes A Hot Potato On Appeal
A nuclear verdict handed down against Werner Enterprises in 2018 has set off a dispute within a Texas appellate court as the truckload carrier appeals the more than $90 million award. There is no immediate impact from the decision of the Texas 14th Court of Appeals that Werner's (NASDAQ: WERN)...
Werner’s 2018 Appeal of $89.7M Jury Verdict Still Awaiting Decision | Transport Topics
An appeal of one of the largest accident verdicts in history against a motor carrier has been languishing for nearly three years in a Texas appellate court while justices who heard the arguments retired before a decision.
Ok...
So let me get this straight...
NWS issues a winter storm warning and that means only commercial vehicles SHOULD NOT be allowed on the roads ?
Yet an idiot driver in this case the 4 wheeler was driving WAY too fast for the BAD conditions therefore having a high impact accident has zero responsibility for her need for SPEED ?
This idiot 4 wheeler driver would have hit anyone else and likely would have had a terrible accident. Only they could have possibly killed the other innocent driver in a smaller vehicle.
Let's remember if moron 4 wheeler driver wasn't speeding so much... Then the accident either a. Never happens or b. Is a low speed impact accident with relatively minor injuries.
What if that moron had just hit a large oak tree off the side of the road??
Do they get to sue the state for not closing the roads ? ?
Guess so given this stupid logic.
Man I has a friend of mine die with a passenger here in Virginia right after Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
In that circumstance a state VDOT employee moved a road closed sign that blocked a washed out bridge. My friend Glen died after dropping 30 feet straight down into the creek below and he was going 40 mph. 2 young men died.
That's worthy of litigation.
I have driven in bad bad weather with winter storm warnings posted... Never had a problem.
However I also fully understand I am assuming a level of risk because of other potential morons out there. Morons meaning people driving 50-60 mph on snow or ice covered roads. You can drive fast but you cannot stop... And you run of out driver talent exceptionally fast if you lose control of your vehicle on snow or ice covered roads going 50 mph plus. In this Werner case that idiot 4 wheeler driver ran out of talent and caused a horrific accident.
This Werner case is preposterously ludicrous.
So let me get this straight...
NWS issues a winter storm warning and that means only commercial vehicles SHOULD NOT be allowed on the roads ?
Yet an idiot driver in this case the 4 wheeler was driving WAY too fast for the BAD conditions therefore having a high impact accident has zero responsibility for her need for SPEED ?
This idiot 4 wheeler driver would have hit anyone else and likely would have had a terrible accident. Only they could have possibly killed the other innocent driver in a smaller vehicle.
Let's remember if moron 4 wheeler driver wasn't speeding so much... Then the accident either a. Never happens or b. Is a low speed impact accident with relatively minor injuries.
What if that moron had just hit a large oak tree off the side of the road??
Do they get to sue the state for not closing the roads ? ?
Guess so given this stupid logic.
Man I has a friend of mine die with a passenger here in Virginia right after Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
In that circumstance a state VDOT employee moved a road closed sign that blocked a washed out bridge. My friend Glen died after dropping 30 feet straight down into the creek below and he was going 40 mph. 2 young men died.
That's worthy of litigation.
I have driven in bad bad weather with winter storm warnings posted... Never had a problem.
However I also fully understand I am assuming a level of risk because of other potential morons out there. Morons meaning people driving 50-60 mph on snow or ice covered roads. You can drive fast but you cannot stop... And you run of out driver talent exceptionally fast if you lose control of your vehicle on snow or ice covered roads going 50 mph plus. In this Werner case that idiot 4 wheeler driver ran out of talent and caused a horrific accident.
This Werner case is preposterously ludicrous.
Guy back in high school swerved to avoid a dog in the road and killed a person. He was a very nice kid. It messed him up horribly.
Yes, that's what that means. Imagine the person got the money after the first trial and spent LOTS of it, then it went to appeal and was overturned. You will NEVER get that money back. The average person could never, ever pay back a few million, let alone tens of millions.
The NWS' warnings have no "authority" for anything. It's simply information.
I suspect some lawyer saw the Werner trainee driver's name, Shiraz Ali, and immediately saw dollar signs.
Werner should have filed a countersuit saying the 4–wheeler driver should not have been on the road with her kids given the conditions either. Two should be able to play that game.
Most states have taken steps to limit jury awards, and even the Supreme Court has weighed in on the subject. It's amazing this case had this result.
Say what you will about Virginia's liability law, the 1% rule prevents a would-be plaintiff from collecting in a case like this. The woman was the one who went across the median, not the truck driver. She was more than 50% at fault, and I'd say 100%.
Werner should have filed a countersuit saying the 4–wheeler driver should not have been on the road with her kids given the conditions either. Two should be able to play that game.
Most states have taken steps to limit jury awards, and even the Supreme Court has weighed in on the subject. It's amazing this case had this result.
Say what you will about Virginia's liability law, the 1% rule prevents a would-be plaintiff from collecting in a case like this. The woman was the one who went across the median, not the truck driver. She was more than 50% at fault, and I'd say 100%.
One of my insurance clients was a warehouse that delivered groceries in the NY metro area. This is years ago, the semi-trucks used by the warehouse had dash cams from the time they became readily available. The owner stated that in many circumstances when there was video proof that a passenger vehicle was in the 100% wrong, his firm ended up being liable for damages to the folks in the passenger vehicle. Courts in his area were quick to assign blame to the owners of trucking firms assumed to have deep pockets to pay.
Ahh I know that Hall...
I know tons about the NWS . . More than 99 percent of people walking around breathing air.
I have utilized their information for a very, very long time. I had a weather radio in 1988... I have not seen a weather forecast on television in over 20 years. I don't need them. . I have learned how to read those forecast models... GFS and NAM, HRWF, etc etc . .
The fact the people pursuing that garbage case put that up as a rationale why that truck should not have been on the road is .....
Patently nonsense.
Which why you are correct in what you said.
Don‘t forget all the staged accidents and unfortunate truck driver hits the crooks.
I have even less faith in human being honest and won't do shady things for their own gain. The "probability" of AI being in a bad accident that cause fatality is proven to be lower than human drivers (at least you rule out drunk driving, street racing, etc). Will there be a possibility of screw-up and fatality? Definitely, but so will a teen driving a hand-me-down SUV in the first year, yet there is political pressure to let the teens drive.
With insurance, we know the financial damage will be covered and there will be a lower cost. There will be software bugs in the AI just like there will be bad first year driver, and there will be lawsuit and settlement.
Welcome to America, where insurance liability is everything and the judicial system can be anything.
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.
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
A little off topic:
When I worked in a grocery store there were many staged slip and falls. It was very convenient that the injured person slipped and fell..... their family friend or neighbor witnessed the whole incident.
I can’t imagine all the staged accidents involving commercial trucks that take place every year.
When I worked in a grocery store there were many staged slip and falls. It was very convenient that the injured person slipped and fell..... their family friend or neighbor witnessed the whole incident.
I can’t imagine all the staged accidents involving commercial trucks that take place every year.
Just one example:
Seven More Indicted in New Orleans Staged Crash Scam | Transport Topics
Seven individuals have been charged with staging two accidents with tractor-trailers in New Orleans, bringing the number of indictments to 40 in a federal investigation into intentional collisions with trucks.
Before I retired this was brought up in many safety meetings. Drivers nowadays know they’re a target every time they get behind the wheel of a large Truck. It’s been a cottage industry for several decades. A large number of drivers nowadays have dash cams for this very reason.
I use to have a red hot rod SHO and worked 2nd shift. Came home one night and a state cop was on my bumper as I was going a steady 50mph for 5 miles. i finally saw a road block being set up at the upcoming intersection.
But with this cop on my bumper a possum ran out in front of me. I did a quick extreme back and forth swerve and missed it, but the cop didn't.
But with this cop on my bumper a possum ran out in front of me. I did a quick extreme back and forth swerve and missed it, but the cop didn't.
I am a firm believer that your liability coverage should be equal to or more than your total net worth. Chances of needing it are slim but if you need it and don't have it you could be financially ruined.
Reminds me of a time when I was having my learner-permit-holding sister drive to get some practice. A robin landed on the road (a 2-lane country-ish road with no real shoulders and deep ditches lining the road) and she started to swerve to try to miss it. We stayed on the road since the bird wised-up and flew off so she didn't have to commit to the swerve, but I warned her if she did that again and killed me, I'd make it a mission in the afterlife to come back and haunt her for that...