Last month, on Friday, September 20th, an Osceola County jury awarded $7.1 million in damages to a man whose leg was amputated following a crash with a semi-truck in 2012.
Loran Leroy Smith Jr. was headed southbound in his tractor trailer on March 6th, 2012, just before 5:00am. Smith then drifted across the center line of the roadway on Hwy 27 in Polk County and collided with a 2003 Ford Expedition SUV. Kevin Erb was driving the SUV at the time of the accident. Erb was severely injured in the accident and had to have one of his legs amputated. Since the time of the injury, Erb has incurred at least $2.5 million in medical treatment expenses.
Trucking Operator Found Negligent
In September, a personal injury civil trial culminated when the jury found Smith and the truck’s operator, Peninsula Logistics of Sorrento, 100 percent responsible for the crash. At the time of the accident, the road was filled with smoke from a controlled burn. Erb’s civil lawsuit alleged that Smith was operating at unsafe speeds, given the reduced visibility on the road, and was therefore negligent. By extension, Peninsula Logistics was responsible for its driver’s negligence.
The jury awarded damages in Erb’s favor as follows:
- $4.1 million for pain and suffering (plus medical expenses)
- $498,000 for lost wages
- $250,000 to Erb’s wife, Bernadette, for the loss of her husband’s “comfort, society, and attention”
Trucking Accident Statistics
- According to the CDC, Cognitive impairment of a driver after approximately 18 hours awake is similar to that of someone with a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.05%.
- After about 24 hours awake, a driver’s impairment is equivalent to a BAC of 0.10%, higher than the legal limit in all 50 states.
- Semi-trucks are involved in nearly 500,000 motor vehicle accidents each year, according to the US DOT.
- Approximately 20,000 accident-related injuries are officially linked to truck driver fatigue each year, but experts feel that many more cases go unreported or unconfirmed.
- On average, a trucking accident occurs about every 16 minutes in the US.
- A fully-loaded tractor trailer travelling at 55mph requires 300 ft. (length of a football field) to come to a complete stop.
- About 65% of fatal commercial truck accidents occur in the hours after sunrise, following late night or all-night runs.
- The majority of serious trucking accidents involved drivers who were awake for 24 consecutive hours or longer.
- The total number of accidents resulting in injuries for 2009, 2010, and 2011 were 60,000, 67,000, and 73,000, respectively.
- There were 4,018 fatalities and 112,000 total injuries in 2011 related to large truck and bus accidents (including truck drivers).
- 2% of trucking accident fatalities consist of drivers/operators, while 98% are occupants of other vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists.
References:
Orlando Sentinel
