Dallas County Jury Awards $3.6M in Trucking Negligence Death
A jury found a trucking company and its driver mostly at fault in a wrongful death case. The accident occurred when a truck driver stopped in a traffic lane after an object damaged her truck's brake line. The deceased driver collided with the stopped truck. The jury determined the trucking company and driver were negligent, as was the deceased driver to a lesser extent.
Case Information Updated: October 2025
About Wrongful Death Injuries
Wrongful death claims arise when a car accident fatality is caused by another party's negligence. These cases compensate surviving family members for their losses and the decedent's pain and suffering.
Case Outcome
- Outcome
- Verdict-Plaintiff
- Amount
- $4,000,000
- County
- Dallas County, TX
- Resolved
- 2024
Injury & Accident Details
- Injury Type
- Wrongful Death
- Accident Type
- Truck/Commercial
- Case Type
- Motor Vehicle Negligence, other, death
Settlement Context
This verdict-plaintiff of $4,000,000 is near the median of $6,500,000 for wrongful death cases resolved by verdict-plaintiff. The typical range is $800,000 to $15,000,000, based on 34 cases in our database.
Case Overview
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.
Understanding This Case
- This case went to trial and resulted in a jury verdict. Verdicts can yield higher awards but carry the risk of receiving nothing if the jury rules against the plaintiff.
- This case was resolved in Dallas County, Texas. Local jury tendencies, judge assignments, and regional economic conditions all influence case outcomes in this jurisdiction.
- Resolved in 2024, this case reflects the legal and economic conditions of that period, including medical costs, insurance practices, and jury award trends at the time.
VerdictlyTM Score
This outcome is within expected ranges
This score is calculated by analyzing injury type, accident details, geographic location, temporal trends, and comparing against 2,000+ similar cases in our database.
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