Six-Figure Settlement for Driver Hit by 18-Wheeler on Icy U.S. Route 75

Summary

Winocour Law secured a six-figure settlement for an Oklahoma man who was seriously injured when a fully loaded, corporate-owned 18-wheeler came up an icy stretch of US 75 near Sherman at a high rate of speed, plowed through a group of vehicles that had lost traction, and struck his pickup nearly broadside.

The case had real obstacles. Our client had briefly lost control of the vehicle he was driving on the ice himself. Medicare had paid for his treatment, which under Texas law sharply limited the medical expenses he could recover. And he passed away from an unrelated illness before the case resolved. Even so, the settlement came to many times the amount of his medical bills.

This case provides a clear demonstration of how a commercial trucking case comes together, including the corporate structure behind the driver, the governing federal and state rules, and how a claim’s value is built when Medicare limits recovery of medical bills.

Here, we share the outcome in general terms to protect our client’s family’s privacy.

An Icy Morning on US 75

Our client was an older man from Oklahoma. Several mornings a week, he drove south into Texas to meet old friends for coffee and breakfast at a Waffle House just south of Sherman.

The morning of the crash, the roads were icy: not so severe as to keep people home, but bad enough that vehicles were moving at reduced rates of speed.

After breakfast, he headed back north on US 75 toward Oklahoma, amid the slow-moving traffic. Behind him, an 18-wheeler loaded with heavy automotive batteries was moving up the fast lane at roughly 75 to 80 miles per hour. Just ahead, several smaller vehicles, our client’s included, briefly lost traction on the ice.

Leaving himself too little time to stop, the truck driver struck several vehicles before hitting our client’s pickup, spinning it around several times. Though our client survived the crash, he was badly hurt and taken by ambulance to a Sherman medical center, where he underwent extensive treatment.

Who Was Responsible

The truck belonged to a major car battery manufacturer that ran its own delivery fleet. Because the driver was a company employee on the job, the company was answerable for his conduct and for whether its hiring and training practices complied with federal regulations. We pursued both lines of questioning.

After deposing the driver and the company personnel responsible for qualifying him, the driver’s record and the company’s hiring practices came back clean. Throughout his years on the road, we could find no significant history of citations or legal violations. So, we turned to his actions at the time of the crash.

The Evidence: Speed for the Conditions

Two sets of rules required the driver to slow down that morning, regardless of the posted speed limit:

• Texas law. Drivers may not travel faster than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions, and must reduce speed for weather and road hazards.
• Federal safety rules. Commercial drivers are held to a higher standard. When icy conditions affect traction, a truck driver must use extreme caution and reduce speed.

The truck’s onboard data showed the driver had done neither.

The Comparative Fault Defense

The defense had a point to press: our client had lost control of his own vehicle before the truck hit him. Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility statute, an injured person’s recovery is reduced by his own percentage of fault and barred entirely if that share is greater than 50 percent.

The risk of vehicles losing traction on an icy freeway, however, is exactly the hazard the speed-for-conditions rules exist to address. Because the case settled, no judge or jury ever needed to assign a percentage of fault to our client.

How We Reached a Settlement

Two things affected the value of this case: Medicare paid for our client’s medical care, and sadly, our client passed away from an unrelated illness before the case was resolved.

In Texas, an injured person can recover only what was actually paid for his medical care. Medicare pays hospitals far less than they bill. His hospitals billed several hundred thousand dollars, and Medicare paid less than $30,000. That smaller amount became the most he could recover for his medical bills.

His pain, emotional suffering, and physical limitations were a different matter. Those losses were separate from his medical bills, and that is where we built value in our negotiations. Unfortunately, our client did not live to see the outcome of his case.

The lawsuit continued after his death, as did his wife’s claims for the lost companionship she suffered between the crash and his ultimate passing. In the end, we were pleased with the result. The six-figure settlement, at the very least, recognized what the crash took from both of them and gave her some security for the future.

Key Takeaways

• Commercial drivers must slow down for conditions. Texas and federal rules require truck drivers to reduce speed on ice, whatever the posted limit, and onboard data can show whether they did.
• A driver who lost control can still recover. Under Texas’s proportionate responsibility rules, an injured driver may recover damages so long as his share of fault is 50 percent or less.
• Medicare changes the math. Texas’s paid-or-incurred rule can reduce recoverable medical expenses to a fraction of what was billed, placing greater emphasis on documenting pain and impairment.

If you or someone you love was hurt in a crash involving an 18-wheeler or another commercial vehicle, speak with a Dallas truck accident lawyer at Winocour Law. We can review the evidence, identify who may be responsible, and advise you as to the best course of action.