Heavy Truck Negligence Causes Serious Injury
Madison County, Tennessee: On December 3, 2015, at approximately 4:15 a.m., Jetorin Smith was driving his Freightliner delivery truck with his girlfriend as his unauthorized passenger. He rear-ended a vehicle driven by Hector Barba. Mr. Smith was driving at such an excessive rate of speed that his Freightliner cab was crushed, despite the fact the vehicle he rear-ended was driving at highway speed. Hector Barba’s first concern was for the driver and the passenger of the vehicle that rear-ended his vehicle. In the next day or two, he began to appreciate how bad his injuries really were. After spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical care and his great pain and suffering from the accident, he sought to make some recovery for his injuries.
Cullen Moore and David Rumley of Wigington Rumley Dunn & Blair, LLP prosecuted a lawsuit against Mr. Smith, his employer Impact Express and Crow’s Truck Service. In his deposition, Mr. Smith’s memory of events was suspiciously vague. Over one-hundred times he said “I’m not sure” to questions by Mr. Moore. He had almost no knowledge of the Tennessee Driver’s Manual and the rules of the road for proper following distances. He did, however, remember that he argued with the owner of the company just before beginning his trip that early morning about the safety of the truck assigned to him. He later blamed mechanical issues on the truck for the cause of the collision.
The driver of the rear-ended vehicle suffered severe, permanent, and disabling injuries as the result of Mr. Smith’s failure to obey traffic laws and reasonable driving practices and due to his company’s failure to monitor and enforce proper driving behaviors. He sought to recover damages for the medical expenses, physical impairment, disfigurement and the physical pain and mental anguish he suffered in this traumatic collision. This case settled for a confidential sum.