Six Figures Paid for Negligent Truck Maintenance and Repair
Oct 10, 2013OUTCOME: Settled prior to Jury Selection
Six months before the statute of limitations was to expire a client came to our office with two herniated discs in his lower back. The injuries occurred while he was driving his employer's truck, which ... while in operation on the Long Island Expressway had its rear wheel dismount and fly of the axle. Without its rear wheel the truck's axle struck the roadway causing the herniated discs. During his treatment the client underwent 6 epidural steroid injections, but refused to undergo the recommended surgery. The truck had been leased from a large truck leasing company and under the lease agreement only the leasing company was allowed to service the truck. Several days prior to the accident the same wheel had been removed by the leasing company for a flat tire. Yet the leasing company denied any liability. During the litigation we obtained a copy of the specific truck’s maintenance and service manual which provided the wheel nut tightening sequence for the wheels on the truck. During the Defendant’s deposition however they provided an entirely different sequence. The manual expressly stated that the proper wheel nut tightening sequence had to be used in order to prevent the wheel from separating from the truck. The case settled before selecting the jury for six figures.