Ted B. Lyon and Associates: Jury Awards $4.1 Million to Woman Injured in 18-Wheeler Crash
Dallas, April 30, 2014 /PRNewswire — A 41-year-old Mississippi woman seriously injured when her pick-up truck rolled over after it was rear-ended by an 18-wheel tractor-trailer driver on a Texas interstate highway in 2011 was awarded $4.1 million by a Dallas jury, according to her attorneys Ryan Zehl and Ron C. McCallum of Ted B. Lyon and Associates.
The jury in Judge Emily Tobolowsky’s court found last Thursday that the truck driver, who had two previous rear-end collisions, was grossly negligent. The jury also found that his employer, Greenwood Motor Lines, Inc., doing business as R&L Carriers, was also grossly negligent in failing to properly supervise and train the driver.
Mr. McCallum stated that “The Bush case is unique in that the citizens of Dallas County held this trucking company accountable under both an ordinary care and gross negligence standard based upon clear and convincing evidence for gross negligence findings against both the driver and the company.”
The collision occurred near Weatherford, Texas on I-20 on the evening of Dec. 5, 2011 seriously injuring Bobbie Bush and killing her two dogs, which were ejected from her vehicle. The truck driver was estimated to have been traveling at least 65 mph at the time of the collision in a construction zone.
Ms. Bush is represented by Mr. Ron C. McCallum of Ted B. Lyon and Associates; Ryan Zehl and Kevin Haynes, of Houston-based Fitts Zehl LLP and Carmen S. Mitchell of The Mitchell Law Firm, of Dallas.
Mr. McCallum who acted as co-lead counsel on the case, stated that “[T]he outcome of this case is important to every citizen in the state of Texas not because of the amount of the verdict, but because R&L Carriers, one of wealthiest trucking companies in America, poured every ounce of money and energy into the case in an effort to confuse the jury and prevent Bobbie Bush from seeking justice. By the end of the trial, the truth won the day and no matter how big the company, we were willing to take the fight all the way to verdict.”
The jury award included $1.2 million for Ms. Bush’s past and future medical expenses, $1 million for past and future physical impairment, and $50,000 in punitive damages against the trucking company.
The case is Bobbie Bush v. R&L Carriers, Inc., et al, DC-11-16041 in the 298th District Court of Dallas County, Texas.
Contact: Ted B. Lyon and Associates, P.C. 18601 LBJ Freeway, STE 525, Mesquite, Texas 75150. www.tedlyon.com
