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A Pennsylvania tractor-trailer driver, a transportation company and a cheese manufacturer were sued last year in a wrongful death lawsuit. The civil action stemmed from a motor vehicle accident in which one person died and two others suffered catastrophic injuries.
GLC Transportation reached a pretrial settlement agreement with the family members of the Gettysburg man who was killed in the accident for a reported $26.1 million, which is believed to be one of the biggest personal injury settlement ever made in Pennsylvania.
The crash happened in July of 2010, along Interstate 80. According to the complaint, the accident victims were stopped in traffic when their vehicle was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer, which the plaintiffs claim was being operated negligently.
The driver’s father and two dogs were killed in the wreck. The female driver suffered from broken ribs, spinal fractures and a lacerated liver, among other injuries. A male passenger sustained multiple psychological and physical injuries, including permanent brain damage and emotional damage.
Police reports say the truck driver told state police that the sun’s glare played a factor in the deadly crash. However, the plaintiffs argued that the accident occurred around 5 p.m. as the tractor-trailer was heading eastbound, away from the setting sun. The trucker also apparently told investigators he was “unaware” he had been in the accident.
The civil complaint alleged that the truck driver’s responses to accident investigators proved that the Sandy Lakes man was inattentive or asleep behind the wheel, just prior to the accident.
The personal injury lawsuit, which also claimed a loss of consortium, was filed in a Common Pleas court by the widow of the accident victim who was killed. The two other plaintiffs were the severely injured driver and passenger.
Compensation for losses is one way the legal system helps victims and other survivors cope with recovery following an auto accident. It is quite common for lawsuits to end in settlements before any jury hears the case.
Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “$26.1 million personal injury settlement, possibly largest ever in Pa., reached in tractor-trailer death suit,” Jon Crampisi, June 13, 2012