Negligence-Dislodged Truck Tire ($660,000 settlement)
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Motor Vehicles Negligence-Dislodged Truck Tire Type of injuries: Fractured left humerus Court/case #: Middlesex Superior Court, C.A.# 91-05132 Judge or jury: N/A Name of judge: N/A Special damages: $70,000: medical bills; $50,200 lost wages Damages awarded or settled: Settled Amount: $660,000 Attorney for plaintiff-Robert K. Rainer, Chris A. Milne, Leslie Morrison, Boston Attorney for defendant: Withheld Name/city of most helpful experts: Dyer E. Carroll Jr., Andover Name of case: Limoli v. Santiaco Insurance carrier: Withheld Highest offer: $660,000 Other useful information: Plaintiff, An American Airlines stewardess, was traveling south on Interstate 93 to work when suddenly a truck tire smashed down on the windshield and roof of her vehicle crushing her right arm. The tire had become dislodged from the defendant's vehicle, which was traveling on 93 North. The tire had rolled into the median strip and become airborne, crashing into plaintiffs roof The defendant claimed the accident was 'an act of God.' An engineer hired by the plaintiff determined that the wheel bolts had broken as a result of fatigue and therefore not as a result of-an 'act of God' or a defect in the bolts. Discovery also revealed that the defendant performed his own maintenance on the truck and had five weeks before the accident changed the tire in question himself and, according to an expert plaintiff had retained, improperly torqued the bolts, thus causing the fatigue and breaking of the bolts. Plaintiffs intended to request an instruction at trial on res ipsa loquitur and had an expert who was prepared to testify that this was the type of accident that did not ordinarily occur without negligence. The plaintiff underwent three surgeries in order to successfully repair this transverse fracture through the proximal third of the humerus with medial displacement of the distal humerus. The case was settled one day prior to the scheduled jury trial. Published with permission of Lawyers Weekly |
