A couple injured in a multi-car wreck caused by an out-of-control dump truck won a jury award of more than $10 million.
Theodus Williams was driving a 1979 Mack dump truck for Valvano Construction Inc. when he lost control of the truck that was loaded with stone. He hit a line of cars on a city street causing a chain reaction.
One of those cars then hit Robert and Holly Ann Kuchwara’s car and sent the couple’s Toyota SUV into a utility pole, fracturing Holly Ann’s vertebrae, shattering her ankle, and leaving her with head trauma.
The couple sued the construction company and its driver and claimed the dump truck was unsafe for driving.
Their lawyer, Joseph Quinn, had evidence of police charges against the company and the driver for 12 violations each. According to those charges, the truck had faulty brakes and steering problems, and Williams was driving with an expired medical certificate.
The jury gave the couple $9.1 million to compensate for their injuries and an extra $1 million to punish the company and driver.
“Obviously we’re thrilled with the verdict after a case in which there was no offer of settlement,” said Quinn. “The jury accepted the finding of the state police that the truck should never have been on the road.”
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