An out-of-court settlement in Arkansas has awarded $9 million in damages to the family of an over-the-road trucker who died in a fiery crash when another trucker had a seizure and veered into oncoming traffic on Interstate 40 last year.
Details of the Wrongful Death Claim
Memphis attorney Ben Daniel and Jonesboro, Ark., attorney Bobby McDaniel represented two adult sons of victim Roy Johnson Jr.
Daniel said the driver of an Estes Express Lines truck had a seizure and was treated by an ambulance crew three weeks before the fatal accident. A doctor who examined the driver for the truck line cleared him to resume driving, but the doctor testified in a deposition that he was not informed of the earlier seizure.
Johnson, the Memphis victim, was driving eastbound on I-40, and the Estes Express driver was headed west when he had another seizure leading to the accident at 1 p.m. April 8 in Prairie County east of Little Rock. The case was due to go to trial this summer.
Truck Drivers & Seizures
McDaniel said U.S. Department of Transportation rules require that a trucker suspected of a seizure is not allowed to resume an over-the-road truck-driving job for up to 10 years. “The trucking company was obligated to take him off the road, and our client burned to death because of that negligence,” said Daniel. The driver of the Estes Express truck survived the crash.
The attorneys said the settlement reached late last week is the largest they know of in Arkansas in which one person died in a wrongful death case. Daniel said Johnson’s widow, two adult sons and three sisters will divide the $9 million settlement.
If you are looking for an experienced attorney to represent your family in a wrongful death claim, please contact Daniel Law Firm today and arrange a free, no-obligation case evaluation.