$6.7 Million Settlement
The plaintiff was a 38-year-old woman whose right leg and arm were amputated after a truck in which she was a passenger drove off an entrance ramp. She sued the truck driver, the truck owner, several companies involved in leasing the truck, several companies involved with truck maintenance, and the company that loaded the truck.
The accident happened in Kansas City on Oct. 22, 1997. The driver was northbound on Interstate 35 at the entrance ramp to Interstate 70. The plaintiff was asleep in the truck's sleeper berth. As the truck entered the entrance ramp, the driver lost control and the trailer began swinging back and forth, eventually colliding into and flipping over the retaining wall. The truck and trailer fell 15 feet onto I-70 below. The plaintiff was thrown from the sleeper berth and severely injured her arm and leg, which were later amputated.
The plaintiff claimed that the driver had recently worked excessive hours, suffered from driver fatigue and was driving too fast as he entered the ramp, and that the maintenance companies had failed to properly maintain and service the trailer's brakes. She also contended that the cargo shifted during the accident, contributing to the driver's loss of control.
The insurer for the driver and owner contributed $1 million to the settlement, the insurers for the maintenance companies contributed $5.5 million, and the insurer for the company that loaded the cargo contributed $200,000.
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Type of Action: Negligence
Type of Injuries: Amputation of right arm and leg, facial lacerations, thigh laceration, blunt chest injury
Court/Case Number/Date: Jackson County Circuit Court/CV98-4476
Caption: Bilyeu v. Huft Trucking Inc., et al.
Judge, Jury, or ADR: N/A
Name of Judge: J.D. Williamson
Special Damages Claimed: $875,551 past medical expense, $37,440 past lost income, $505,440 future lost income
Verdict or Settlement: $6.7 million settlement
Allocation of Fault: N/A
Last Offer: N/A
Last Demand: N/A
Attorneys for Plaintiff: Scott S. Bethune and Timothy L. Brake, Kansas City
Insurance Carrier: Continental Western Insurance Co. (Rail Intermodal Specialists Inc., Transpec Leasing Inc., and Transportation Specialists Ltd.); Great West Casualty (for Huft, Bilyeu and Dargel); and Wasau Insurance Co. (Farmland National Beef Packing)
Plaintiffs' Experts: Dr. Bruce R. Buhr, Wichita, Kan. (orthopedic surgeon); John Glennon, Overland Park, Kan. (highway design/traffic signs and warnings); Dr. Herb A. Strain, Kansas City (orthopedic surgeon); Jerry G. Wallingford, San Antonio (accident reconstructionist/tractor-trailer brakes)
Defendants' Experts: Herbert Childs, La. (tractor-trailer brakes); Rudy Limpert, Provo, Utah (tractor-trailer brakes); Armin Pavlovic, Madison, Wisc. (accident reconstructionist/tractor-trailer brakes); Roland Ruhl, Champaign, Ill. (accident reconstructionist/load shift)
October 25, 1999
