Dallas County Jury Awards $3.6M in Trucking Negligence Death

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Dallas County following a fatal collision on Interstate 635 in September 2021. The parents of a 24-year-old man, who died from blunt force trauma, sued a Houston-based trucking company, its driver, and the owner of the tractor-trailer, alleging negligence. Prior to trial, the parents dismissed the claims against the tractor-trailer owner, which had been named as a third-party defendant by the trucking company, after it was determined the brake line severance was due to road debris.

The plaintiffs contended that the defendant driver stopped the tractor-trailer in a traffic lane on the interstate at night for at least five minutes after a brake line was severed. They argued the driver failed to pull the vehicle to the shoulder, exit the highway, or deploy warning devices such as flares or hazard lights. Plaintiff experts testified the driver could have moved the truck despite the severed brake line, and a trucking industry expert explained the company's obligation to train drivers for such situations.

The trucking company and its driver maintained the deceased was solely responsible for the accident, asserting he failed to swerve or brake. An initial investigation by the Grapevine Police Department also faulted the deceased. However, a defense expert later agreed with the plaintiffs' experts that the driver could have safely moved the truck off the road after the brake line incident.

After a trial, a Dallas County jury found the trucking company 50 percent negligent, the driver 40 percent negligent, and the deceased 10 percent negligent. The jury awarded $4 million in compensatory damages for the parents' loss of companionship and mental anguish. After deducting for the deceased's comparative negligence, the net award to the parents totaled $3.6 million.