National Shipper Avoids Trial Involving Millions in Damages

Highlight:

By persistent work to steadfastly guard the rights of the client, CSH attorneys were able to help a national company avoid a lengthy trial and possible millions of dollars in damages.

Summary:

The plaintiffs, a family of four, were travelling through North Carolina when they were rear-ended by a tractor-trailer being driven home from a completed job.  The accident caused the death of one passenger, paralyzed another from the waist down, and injured the other two.  The costs to take care of the mother due to her paralysis was estimated at $4.4 million, and compensation for her and her daughter’s future inability to earn a living was estimated at $2.2 million.  The plaintiffs sought additional damages for emotional trauma as well as pain and suffering.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against not only the driver of the tractor-trailer but also against the carrier who hired him, the broker who hired the carrier, and the national shipper who hired the broker, whose job the driver had completed at the time of the accident. Both sides presented expert testimony as to which if any of these businesses would have to pay damages.

After several rounds of changes by the plaintiffs’ counsel to the original lawsuit, CSH defense attorneys Rob Griffin and a former Cranfill Sumner attorney filed motions to end the case. After a hearing, the judge granted those motions and resolved the case in favor of the shipper, who was able to avoid a trial completely.

Result/Implications:

The national shipper was able to avoid a lengthy trial and potentially millions of dollars in damages.

Disclaimer: The outcome of a particular case cannot be predicated upon a lawyer’s or a law firm’s past results.