CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Samuel Harding delivering his opening statement
Courtroom View Network is the only news service in the country focused exclusively on gavel-to-gavel video coverage of civil trials. Among the trials we’re most focused on covering are those stemming from accidents involving trucks both large and small.
These trials don’t often get widespread news coverage pre-verdict, but CVN knows these high-stakes cases are of intense interest to both plaintiff and defense attorneys and their clients and non-party stakeholders like insurance carriers.
Like all the areas of recurring litigation CVN focuses on, we look for trucking cases with the potential for large verdicts and featuring top attorneys on both sides of the case with a reputation for delivering serious results at trial for their clients. Here is a summary of all the trucking trials currently available in the CVN video library.
Become a subscriber and get unlimited access to these trials for just $99/month with no contract, along with hundreds more involving a variety of other practice areas. You also get access to any new trials added to the archive while you have a subscription, so please contact us about any trucking trials later this year that we should keep an eye on!
Hill v. Indiana Mills & Manufacturing Inc. (January 2020, Gwinnett County, GA)
Trial outcome: trial suspended midway due to Coronavirus shutdown
Plaintiff counsel: Conley Griggs Partin LLP, Abrams & Abrams PA
Defense counsel: Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial LLC
Via the CVN News Blog: “The lack of safety features in a tractor-trailer seat caused a trucker’s paralysis in a big rig rollover, an attorney for the trucker told jurors Tuesday as trial opened against the seat manufacturer.
Joshua Hill, now 34, was paralyzed in the quarter-roll tractor-trailer crash on a rural Virginia road in December 2015. Hill contends the big rig’s seat, designed by Commercial Vehicle Group Inc. and its affiliate, lacked a pull-down system or another safety design that would have kept him from catastrophically striking his head near the vehicle’s roof.”
Stevens v. J.R.K. Trucking (November 2019, Clayton County, GA)
Trial outcome: $8 million
Plaintiff counsel: Fried Rogers Goldberg LLC
Defense counsel: Walden Adelman Castilla Hiestand & Prout
Via the CVN News Blog: “Jurors Wednesday handed down an $8 million verdict against a trucking firm after finding one of its drivers responsible for the 2015 crash that injured a Georgia motorcyclist.
Jurors deliberated about two hours before finding J.R.K. Trucking’s Donald Parks caused the I-75 crash that injured Ronnie Stevens. Stevens contends he crashed his motorcycle when a dump truck driven by Parks struck an orange construction barrel, sending it into Stevens’s path.
Stevens, who injured his ankle and wrist in the crash, incurred more than $171,000 in medical expenses. His attorney, Fried Rogers Goldberg’s Eric Rogers, requested more than $10.1 million during Wednesday’s closings, noting the lingering impact of the injuries.”
Wiederhold v. Domino’s Pizza (June 2019, Orange County, FL)
Trial outcome: $8.97 million
Plaintiff counsel: Avera & Smith
Defense counsel: Rissman Barrett Hurt Donahuge McLain & Mangan PA
Via the CVN News Blog: “Domino’s Pizza was hit with an $8.97 million verdict Friday at trial over a 2011 crash that ultimately killed a former Florida fire chief.
Jurors in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit, in Orange County, deliberated about an hour before finding pizza delivery driver Jeffrey Kidd 100 percent responsible for the March 2011 wreck that rendered Richard Wiederhold a quadriplegic. Wiederhold, 62, a retired Brevard County fire chief, died from injury-related complications about a year after the crash.”
Garcia v. Tri-Modal Distribution Services Inc. (January 2019, Los Angeles, CA)
Trial outcome: $11 million
Plaintiff counsel: The Vartazarian Law Firm
Defense counsel: Harrington Foxx Dubrow & Canter, The Rodolff Law Firm APC
Via the CVN News Blog: “A California state court jury awarded over $11 million on Thursday to the widow of a man who died after slamming into the back of a big rig truck whose driver illegally parked on the side of a freeway to urinate.
The Los Angeles County jury deliberated for most of a day in a trial that began on January 15 before finding Tri-Modal Distribution Services Inc. responsible for the 2013 death of Jose Garcia. The award of $11,050,000 to Karen Garcia far exceeds Tri-Modal’s highest settlement offer of $700,000, according to her attorney Steve Vartazarian of The Vartazarian Law Firm.”
Wing v. U-Haul International Inc. (August 2018, Phoenix, AZ)
Trial outcome: defense verdict
Plaintiff counsel: Wagstaff & Cartmell, Garrey Owner Hoffmaster & Peshek PC
Defense counsel: Lightfoot Franklin & White LLC
Via the CVN News Blog: “An Arizona state court jury cleared rental truck giant U-Haul of all liability on Thursday in a $30 million products liability trial over claims that the lack of brakes on a tow dolly caused a car accident that left a man permanently paralyzed.
The jury in Maricopa County, where U-Haul has its headquarters, deliberated for two days in a trial that began on August 15 before rejecting plaintiff Joshua Wing’s lawsuit. Wing accused U-Haul of renting out tow dollies without independent braking systems despite knowing they posed a serious hazard for drivers, but U-Haul successfully argued the accident that rendered Wing a paraplegic was caused solely by reckless driving.”
Jackson v. Yokohama Corp. (June 2018, San Bernardino, CA)
Trial outcome: mid-trial settlement
Plaintiff counsel: Ivie McNeil & Wyatt
Defense counsel: Morrow & White
Via the CVN News Blog: “Plaintiff Leslie Jackson and her eight children sued Canyon Tire Sales Inc. in 2014, after her husband Steven Wayne Jackson died while driving a 2006 model PeterBuilt cement mixer truck. Jackson worked for a landscaping company, and the suit claims Canyon was hired to maintain the company’s tires but failed to conduct regular inspections or to adequately observe and report tread wear.
The lawsuit, which characterizes Jackson’s death as “entirely preventable” alleges that a blown out tire, a Yokohama SuperSteel MY507A model, showed clear signs of needing replacement due to excessive tread ware.”
Zuhey Cobos v. JMR & CLS Inc. (May 2019, Las Vegas, NV)
Trial outcome: $3.38 million
Plaintiff counsel: Claggett & Sykes Law Firm
Defense counsel: Snell & Wilmer LLP, McCormick Barstow LLP
Via the CVN News Blog: “A Nevada state court jury slapped truck manufacturer Navistar International Corp. and a local towing company with a $3.38 million verdict on Tuesday in a products liability lawsuit filed by a woman injured after a tow truck parked at a gas station rolled down an incline onto a busy street.
The award far surpasses Navistar’s highest settlement offer of $20,000 according to attorney Sean Claggett of the Claggett & Sykes Law Firm, who represented plaintiff Zuhey Cobos.
Jurors found Navistar 75 percent responsible for the accident while assigning the remaining liability to Tri-State Towing.”
Lennig v. CRST, et al. (January 2018, Los Angeles, CA)
Trial outcome: $52 million
Plaintiff counsel: Panish Shea & Boyle LLP, Parris Law
Defense counsel: Bassi Edlin Huie & Blum LLP
Via the CVN News Blog: “A California state court jury slapped a trucking company with a $52.84 million verdict on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by two brothers who suffered traumatic brain injuries when a big rig truck crossed a road’s centerline and hit their car head-on.
Plaintiffs Matthew and Michael Lennig sued CRST, Inc. following the collision in 2014 that they claimed left them with TBIs, PTSD, and serious back and arm injuries. CRST’s driver, Hector Contreras, admitted liability for the accident, leaving the jury to determine only the appropriate amount of compensation. The jury’s verdict far surpasses CRST’s highest settlement offer of $11.5 million, according to the Lennigs’ attorney Brian Parish of Panish Shea & Boyle LLP.”
Maldonado v. Wayne T. Fellows Inc., et al (February 2017, Marion County, Fl)
Trial outcome: $3.9 million
Plaintiff counsel: Ramsdell Law Firm, Marianne Howanitz PA
Defense counsel: Cole Scott & Kissane (Wayne T. Fellows Inc.), Alvarez Winthrop Thompson & Storey (Peoplease Corp.), Rissman Barrett Hurt Donahue McClain & Mangan PA (Theorphilus Clark)
Via the CVN News Blog: “Jurors Friday awarded more than $3.9 million to the family of a Florida mother and son killed in a late-night, 2012 truck crash, but found a non-party drunk driver largely at fault, likely reducing the award.
The Florida State Fifth Circuit Court jury in Marion County needed about five-and-a-half hours to find trucker Theorphilus Clark 22% responsible for the crash that killed Deborah E. Maldonado, 35, and her son Eliezer Maldonado, Jr., 12. Clark's truck slammed into the Maldonados’ car as it sat stranded late at night in the middle of the road on I-75. The car had been disabled minutes earlier when it was struck by another car driven by Lanessa Riobe, who fled the scene and was later arrested for drunk driving.”
Richards v. Total Transportation of Mississippi, et al. (January 2017, Bryan County, GA)
Trial outcome: $15 million
Plaintiff counsel: Cheeley Law Group, Jones Osteen & Jones
Defense counsel: Weinberg Wheeler Hudgins Gunn & Dial (Total Transportation of Mississippi), Hawkins Parnell Thackston & Young (Great Wolf Logistics Inc.)
Via the CVN News Blog: “Jurors awarded $15 million in compensatory damages to Megan Richards for the injuries she suffered in the 2015 trucking crash that killed five of her Georgia Southern University classmates.
The jury apportioned 100 percent of fault to trucker John Wayne Johnson and trucking firm Total Transportation of Mississippi LLC. It also found Johnson's actions showed conduct potentially warranting the imposition of punitive damages. However, Bryan County Superior Court Judge Charles Paul Rose told jurors the parties' attorneys agreed to accept the award "as-is," without a determination of punitives.”
Moreno v. Southeastern Freight Lines (January 2017, Dallas County, TX)
Trial outcome: defense verdict
Plaintiff counsel: Arnold & Itkin LLP
Defense counsel: Cooper & Scully
Via CooperScully.com: “William Allred and Amy Agnew obtained a defense verdict on behalf of their client, Southeastern Freight Lines. The lawsuit was a trucking accident wherein Plaintiff alleged Southeastern and its truck driver were negligent. The Plaintiff, David Moreno, was represented by Arnold & Itkin out of Houston, Texas.
Plaintiff filed his lawsuit seeking damages against Southeastern and its driver as a result of the accident. Plaintiff alleged that Southeastern’s driver, Josh Tatum, made an improper lane change and struck his vehicle, totaling his vehicle. Plaintiff sought damages for his injuries including, pain and suffering in the past and future, and medical expenses in the past and future. In Plaintiff’s initial pleading, Plaintiff sought damages in excess of one million dollars.”
Khan v. Moore Freight Service Inc. (August 2016, Cobb County, GA)
Trial outcome: $20 million
Plaintiff counsel: Fried Rogers Goldberg LLC
Defense counsel: Swift Currie McGhee & Hiers LLP
Via the CVN News Blog: “A Cobb County State Court jury awarded $20 million Wednesday afternoon for the catastrophic brain injury a Pakistani immigrant suffered in a 2013 collision with a tractor trailer.
Ehsan Khan, 57, sustained lifelong brain damage when a tractor trailer driven by John Teal ran a red light in Kennesaw, Georgia and struck a car carrying Khan and his wife, Ghulam. The crash has left Khan, who emigrated from Pakistan in 2009 before becoming an American citizen, unable to walk or care for himself.”
Truong v. Waste Services of Florida Inc. (July 2016, Orange County, FL)
Trial outcome: defense verdict
Plaintiff counsel: Coye Law Firm
Defense counsel: Rissman Barrett Hurt Donahue McClain & Mangan PA
Via the CVN News Blog: “A Florida state court jury sided with a waste disposal company on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by a cyclist who was severely injured in a collision with a 15-ton garbage truck, rejecting his claims for up to $12 million in compensation for injuries that will likely require the amputation of his leg.
A unanimous panel of six jurors deliberated for just under two hours following a weeklong trial before sinking plaintiff Thomas Truong’s allegations against Waste Services of Florida Inc. and truck driver William Bocker. Truong’s attorneys accused Bocker of driving at an unsafe speed and failing to check his mirrors when he collided with Truong on Orlando’s John Young Parkway in 2012. However the company maintained that Truong caused the accident by trying to speed past the truck to cross an intersection despite Bocker activating his turn signal.”
Hope v. UPS (April 2016, Duval County, FL)
Trial outcome: mid-trial settlement
Plaintiff counsel: Searcy Denny Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, Coker Schickel Sorenson Posgay Camerlengo & Iracki, Carl Rufus Pennington PA
Defense counsel: King & Spalding LLP
Via the CVN News Blog: “Attorneys debated whether a UPS tractor-trailer driver caused the late night collision that killed two men, as trial opened Thursday against the delivery service giant.
James Hope Jr., 65, was killed when a UPS tractor-trailer driven by Daniel Irish struck and flipped the dump truck in which Hope was a passenger in January 2011. The crash also killed the dump truck’s driver, Norman White.
Hope’s children claim Irish was dangerously inattentive and failed to see the dump truck in time to avoid the fatal crash on Florida's State Road 441 north of Ocala.”
Kathy Bruno v. Landstar Ranger Inc. (March 2015, Phoenix, AZ)
Trial outcome: $19.25 million
Plaintiff counsel: Watts Guerra, The Slavicek Law Firm
Defense counsel: Jones Skelton & Hochuli PLC
Via the CVN News Blog: “An Arizona state court jury slammed Landstar System Inc. with a $19.25 million verdict on Friday, finding the trucking company is responsible for the death of a driver who lost control of his car following a tire blowout and collided with a tractor-trailer parked on the side of an interstate highway.
Michael Bruno died in 2011 after the right front tire on the Chevrolet Silverado he was driving failed due to a tread separation, and he crashed into the back of a Landstar tractor-trailer that had stopped alongside U.S. Route 93. Three other passengers in the car suffered severe injuries, including Bruno’s wife and daughter, according to the family’s complaint.”
Wicker v. American Family Insurance, et al. (February 2015, DeKalb County, GA)
Trial outcome: $3.5 million
Plaintiff counsel: Cash Krugler & Fredericks LLC
Defense counsel: Fain Major & Brennan PC
Via the CVN News Blog: “A DeKalb County State Court Jury awarded Jewel Wicker $3.5 million in damages after the then-Georgia State University student’s car was run over by a First Class Produce truck.
According to statements and evidence presented at the trial, the accident occurred while Wicker’s car was crossing the intersection of Camp Creek Parkway and Old Fairburn Road on July 22, 2012. A First Class Produce box truck driven by the company owner’s son, Parker Owens, ran a red light at the intersection and nearly crushed Wicker’s car. Wicker was taken by ambulance to Grady Hospital where she was treated for several days.”
Collins v. Collins (January 2015, Dekalb County, GA)
Trial outcome: $425,000
Plaintiff counsel: Shiver Hamilton
Defense counsel: Penna & Mendocino
Via the CVN News Blog: “A DeKalb County jury awarded $425,000 in damages to a driver whose Jeep Cherokee was spun around and pushed sideways several hundred feet by a fully loaded tractor-trailer.
Lee Scott Collins was driving the Jeep and hauling an attached dog trailer on I-75 in Cook County on April 19, 2012. According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, a KCH Trucking Company truck driven by Lonzia Collins (who is no relation to the plaintiff) struck the trailer and spun it around, jackknifing Lee Collins’ Jeep. The truck then hit the Jeep broadside on the driver’s side and pushed it several hundred feet before the vehicles came to a stop.”
Richbell v. Toussaint (June 2014, Martin County, FL)
Trial outcome: $1.25 million
Plaintiff counsel: Schlesinger Law Offices
Defense counsel: Cole Scott Kissane PA
Case summary via Leagle: “A bizarre sequence of events on a two-lane road resulted in the tragic death of the plaintiffs' daughter. Their daughter, and a second vehicle following her, attempted to pass two tractor-trailers. They began their attempt in a passing zone, but ended their attempt in a no-passing zone. When they cut back in front of the two tractor-trailers, they encountered a vehicle stopped to make a left turn.
The plaintiffs' daughter was able to stop, but the vehicle following her rear-ended her car, forcing her into oncoming traffic where another truck traveling in the opposite direction collided with her vehicle. She died as a result of the accident. The plaintiffs filed suit against the driver and owner of the vehicle that rear-ended their daughter's vehicle, the driver and owner of the truck that ultimately collided with her, and the owner of the trailer attached to his truck.”
Alterman v. Zep Construction (February 2010, 12th Judicial Circuit FL)
Trial outcome: $4 million
Plaintiff counsel: Ritter Chusid Bivona & Cohen
Defense counsel: Rissman Barrett Hurt Donahuge McClain & Mangan
Via the Sarasota Herald Tribune: “A jury awarded $4 million to the family of a Sarasota man Wednesday, finding a construction company and one of its subcontractors responsible for a multicar crash on Interstate 75 that killed two and injured at least 10 people.
The jury also found that Zep Construction of Fort Myers and Traffic Control Systems Inc. should pay punitive damages for consciously disregarding the safety of drivers on the 70 mph highway.”