The collision of two tractor-trailers causing serious injuries has resulted in a jury awarding $23.5 million Wichita Eagle reports.
On March 16, 2006, Terry Frederick, from Overland Park, Kan., was a passenger in a Yellow Freight semi. Frederick’s lawyers claimed that Robyn Getchel, the driver of a Swift Transportation tractor-trailer, was backing up from a rest stop onto the highway when she hit the Yellow Freight semi.
Frederick suffered a severe spinal cord injury. Dennis Bottorff, the driver of the Yellow Freight rig, was killed.
Getchel tested positive for methamphetamine.
Because the jury assessed 65 percent of the fault to the Swift driver, the actual award to Frederick, 56, is nearly $15.3 million. Frederick’s medical bills up to the time of trial totaled about $5 million. The rest of the verdict covered future medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering.
When the driver of an 18,000-pound truck uses illegal drugs and engages in unsafe driving maneuvers, the consequences are deadly for both motorists and other truck drivers.
If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact a St. Louis/Illinois trucking accident lawyer at the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.
