ClickCease Trucking Liability | Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger

Trucking Liability

In Traveler v. National Trucking Co. (No. Cal. Sup. Ct. case no. confidential), Rich Schoenberger, who was associated to prepare and try this catastrophic injury case after initial attempts at resolution had failed, negotiated an $11,000,000 pre-trial recovery on behalf of a central coast motorist rendered quadriplegic in a head-on collision with a semi-truck and trailer. Before Rich’s involvement, the case had been filed and managed by a skilled referring attorney who sought Walkup’s assistance for trial. At the time of the collision the driver for a long-haul trucking firm suddenly crossed over a center median strip into oncoming traffic. His big-rig flipped over on top of the plaintiff’s passenger car. The defendant driver and his employer claimed that an unforeseeable and sudden medical emergency had caused the collision, thus absolving them of all liability. Rich and his co-counsel retained qualified experts in the fields of stroke neurology and radiology to dispute that there was no warning of the event. Discovery revealed that earlier in the day the driver had twice sat down to rest while loading his trailer because he had felt “dizzy”. His past medical records revealed a history of uncontrolled high blood pressure, high cholesterol, a poor diet, and a long smoking history. These facts combined to support the argument that the driver should have foreseen the potential for a cerebral-vascular event such as a TIA. The matter was concluded at mediation after expert disclosure and discovery were completed.