$9.75 Million Settlement For Victim of Catastrophic Trucking accident Case

Attorneys Alan M. Feldman, Daniel J. Mann and Edward S. Goldis secured a $9.75M recovery in favor of their client Gary Williams, who was struck by a tractor-trailer owned and operated by K&B Transportation, Inc. in the early morning hours of March 2, 2012.

The plaintiff was traveling at 2 A.M. on Interstate 80 in Illinois, in his 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer, pulling a rented U-Haul box trailer, when the vehicle and U-Haul trailer become jack-knifed. The plaintiff had driven over 30 hours straight from California, with stops only for fuel and food.  While, for unknown reasons, Mr. Williams remained stationary on the dark roadway for 5-8 seconds, his Trailblazer was struck by a tractor-trailer driven by K&B driver Brian Sala.  Mr. Williams suffered significant orthopedic and neurological injuries, including a traumatic brain injury which has left him permanently disabled.

In addition to arguments surrounding Mr. Williams fatigue, K&B’s defense was based on a reconstruction which indicated that Mr. WIlliams’ vehicle turned in front of the tractor shortly before the accident sequence, leaving the tractor-trailer operator no time to respond.  This argument was rebutted through the use of “black box” data, physical evidence, and deposition testimony which demonstrated that the driver was not paying attention to the roadway ahead.