Poague, Wall, Cox & Adams, LLC announces the widow of a 59 year old man who died as a result of a tractor-trailer collision in an out of state accident has settled her wrongful death suit for $4.35 million. The man was also survived by his parents and three adult children who shared in the recovery. Jeffery T. Adams of Poague, Wall, Cox & Adams, LLC represented the family.
The accident occurred in October of 2016 on a four lane interstate where the decedent was sleeping in a tractor-trailer that was being driven by his co-employee. Travelling in the opposite direction was a tractor-trailer transporting a HEMTT, which is an eight wheel, four axle military vehicle. The tractor-trailer carrying the HEMTT left the roadway into the center median causing the HEMTT to come loose and be thrown into oncoming traffic.
Unfortunately it was night, and the co-employee driver was unable to see the HEMTT and crashed into the military vehicle, resulting in an explosion and burning of the tractor-trailer. The decedent survived the collision, but was unable to escape the flames. The driver of the tractor-trailer carrying the HEMTT also did not survive. Fatigue, drowsy driving, and improper securement of the cargo were the possible causes of the crash. The log book of the driver of the tractor-trailer carrying the HEMTT was not found for the date of the accident, though many of the logs were in paper form and thrown throughout the accident scene.
The parties entered into a pre-suit exchange of documentation and mediated the case successfully. The widow also received Missouri workers’ compensation benefits, including weekly benefits until the time of the settlement and an additional $100,000.00 negotiated lump sum for future benefits with no subrogation to the workers compensation carrier. The identity of the parties remains confidential pursuant to the terms of the settlement agreement.
