Death and Serious Injury/ Dump Truck Collision

Our clients, an elderly retired couple, came to a stop as a traffic light turned yellow to red along a busy U.S. highway. A dump truck driver behind them did not begin to brake until the last second and plowed into their vehicle. The damage to our client’s small sedan was extensive. Sadly, the wife died at the scene and the husband was seriously injured. Extensive discovery was undertaken, which established that the defendant driver was a new hire, unfamiliar with the area and was confused about where to deliver his load. He was using phone map technology to find his way. Because he was extremely hard of hearing, he was unable to use “turn by turn” audio directions. Consequently, he was looking at his phone instead of looking at the road when traffic ahead of him stopped. Despite a very conservative venue, we were able to secure a significant settlement for the wrongful death and the injury.