Late one night at the end of March, in 2017, a man in a pickup truck was driving down Farm-to-Market Road 108 in DeWitt County near Yorktown. He had passengers with him in his vehicle.
The man came upon a large tractor-trailer, owned by an oilfield services company. He attempted to pass it on the two-lane road, but as fate would have it, his truck would never make it past that semi.
Instead, he flipped, rolling his truck five times in the dark of the night – he was ejected along with two of his passengers.
The man was only 35 at the time of the accident. Fortunately, his life and the lives of his passengers were spared, but not without injury.
The driver of the truck suffered spinal injuries and is now a quadriplegic. One of his passengers, only 24 at the time, suffered permanent brain damage from the accident. Their lives will never be the same.
What caused the truck to lose control and flip five times that night?
You see, as the man was attempting to pass the tractor-trailer, it began to make a left turn. The front of the semi’s cab struck the rear passenger door of the pickup causing it to veer off the road and flip.
The driver of the semi claimed to have had his blinker light on, but the driver and passengers of the Dodge truck that he hit all said that they did not see his signal.
Lawyers for the oilfield services company that owned the vehicle claimed that the driver of the semi-truck was not obligated to look in his rearview mirror if he had his turning signal on.
But the jury was not buying this excuse – as that’s not what the law says.
The lawyers for the paralyzed plaintiff brought in an accident reconstruction expert to demonstrate to the jury exactly how the accident happened. They also used the testimony of a biomechanical expert to pinpoint exactly how the injuries happened.
It’s amazing how many clues are left behind to reconstruct the scene of the accident – if you know how to look for them.
After 2 ½ weeks of trial, the driver of the truck was awarded $40 million, but in an interesting twist, they apportioned him half of the liability. He still walked away with more than $20 million in compensation.
In this case, as with many others, things aren’t always as they appear. It seems logical to blame the driver of the truck who was trying to pass since the semi supposedly had its blinker on. But when you dig deeper into it and bring in experts to recreate the scene, the picture becomes much clearer.
Sadly, most situations like this don’t make as far – and people miss out on the opportunity to collect the money they truly deserve. They may settle with an insurance company (for way less than what their case is worth) or try to make it on their own because they think that they are to blame.
The best way to know for sure if you have a case is to speak with a personal injury attorney about it. And you can find one who will take your case for no upfront fees. In fact, you only pay if your case is won.
Jason DeSouza is an injury attorney who has helped many people in South Texas get the money they deserve for their accident.
If you have been injured in an accident involving a company truck or vehicle, injury attorney Jason DeSouza can help. And he charges no fees to you unless he wins your case.
DeSouza Law Firm is a leading personal injury firm representing accident victims throughout Texas.
If you’ve been injured by a car, truck, 18 wheeler, company vehicle, or in the oilfield, call DeSouza Injury Lawyers today at 361-799-2222.