A 30-year-old man was driving his motorcycle south on Highway 16 in Harris County with his 9-year-old daughter when they were involved in a horrible collision with a tractor trailer. The father and daughter were traveling in the left lane of a two-lane highway, attempting to pass the tractor trailer who was driving in the right lane. Without properly looking before switching lanes, the tractor trailer struck our clients as he moved over to the left lane.
It was at this time the father contacted Houston truck accident lawyer Scott C. Krist for legal support in this unfortunate circumstance.
The father and daughter were both immediately taken from the scene by ambulance and underwent thorough emergency room care. The man, an electrical operator, suffered a serious crush injury to his right foot which quickly became septic. His young daughter sustained a mid-shaft fracture to her right femur and underwent surgical intervention that resulted in a scar on her leg. Two weeks after the incident, the man underwent a below the knee amputation. Our client was later fitted for a prosthesis, which would require replacement every four years.
Under the legal guidance of experienced Houston truck accident injury attorneys Scott Krist and Alex W. Horton, our client proceeded to sue the tractor trailer company and driver for both vicarious liability and motor vehicle negligence based on these life-changing injuries. Attorneys Horton and Krist fought on behalf of their clients. During an intense five-day trial, both attorneys responded with an aggressive argument including the tractor-trailer presented no warning that he was turning, due to a loose pigtail connector on the trailer turn signal. Furthermore, Horton and Krist strongly argued that the driver failed to inspect this problem prior to taking off, holding him 100% accountable for the accident.
We successfully obtained a jury verdict with total damages in the amount of $6,028,000.00. Our client received an amount of $5,057,302.82 after pre-judgement interest and reductions for contributory negligence. The case was then settled for $5,000,000.00. Case expenses totaled $124,917.92 with an attorney fee of 40%. Both the father and daughter can continue to put this accident behind them with a successful outcome. This was the largest verdict involving a commercial truck accident in Texas in 2014.
*The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.