Most people go to work to make money to support themselves and their family. No one goes to work thinking that they will be killed during their workday, but sometimes things happen and lives are lost to negligence or carelessness while working. A family in Texas was recently given compensation in a lawsuit claiming the wrongful death of their loved one.
The family was recently awarded $281 million for their claim, with $100 million just in punitive damages. The claim alleged that a particular company was negligent in that they failed to properly maintain the tractor-trailer that caused the incident leading up to the man’s death. The courts found this allegation to be accurate.
The man was reportedly driving a pickup truck at a work site when a tractor-trailer’s drive shaft allegedly broke off somehow and went flying through the air. The drive shaft went through the windshield of the truck the man was driving, and he was killed. The man driving the tractor-trailer was not found to have been the cause of the incident leading to the tractor-trailer breaking.
The wrongful death claim may have provided the family compensation for their loss, but it will never bring back their family member. The man’s family had made it absolutely clear that the tractor-trailer company was negligent in keeping the tractor-trailer maintained properly, and that it was because of that negligence that a man lost his life. The report states that, after this verdict, the roads of Texas will be safer since vehicle maintenance will more than likely be a higher priority to companies in the area.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, Texas jury awards $281M verdict for wrongful death of Eagle Ford Shale worker, David Yates, Dec. 17, 2013
