$1.15 Million Tractor-Trailer Crash Settlement

RAM Law’s Ed Rebenack recently obtained a $1.15 million settlement for a tractor-trailer crash. The RAM Law client was a 50 year-old driver of a vehicle on Route 1 & 9 in Elizabeth, New Jersey. During his employment driving a tractor with an empty chassis, the Defendant attempted to change lanes and sideswiped the client’s vehicle. Rebenack alleged that the truck company was negligent for allowing its driver to violate maximum drive time while operating the company’s trucks. The Defendants denied liability and claimed that the client was the cause of the collision by attempting to pass the truck on the right side at a high rate of speed.

Following the crash, the client underwent a neck fusion surgery and pain management procedures to her low back. She claimed that the spinal injuries altered her body mechanics in such a way that ultimately required her to undergo an arthroscopic surgery to her knee and shoulder. Medical bills for the procedures were also in dispute.

The truck company hired a biomechanical expert who wrote a report claiming that the sideswipe nature of the collision could not have produced enough force to result in the spinal injuries, coupled with the minimal nature of the collision-related damage to the client’s vehicle. During a 2^nd round of mediation, the insurance carrier for the trucking company agreed to pay $1.15 million to settle the lawsuit and avoid trial.