Truck’s Tandem’ Separated From Trailer

From the November 4, 2002 Missouri Lawyers Weekly.

Plaintiff Claimed Welds Were Defective
$2.15 Million Settlement

Charlotte Schubert sued the owner and manufacturer of a tractor-trailer truck after she was injured in a Jan. 9, 1999 accident on Highway B near Jefferson City. A Freightways truck crossed the centerline of the highway and collided with the Ford Bronco being driven by Charlotte’s husband Robert. Charlotte’s mother was also a passenger.

The truck driver testified that he lost control as he went around a curve at approximately 20 mph because the rear wheels of the trailer, called the tandem, separated from the trailer box. The tandem was found more than 100 feet from the overturned trailer. A post-collision examination of the trailer showed that the weldments – which had held the tandem to the box – fractured and that many of the fractures had occurred before the collision.

The trailer was manufactured in 1996 at Trailmobile’s Jonesboro, Ark., plant as part of an order by Freightways for 140 trailers. After the accident, Freightways found that their entire trailer fleet had broken weldments. Trailmobile agreed to repair those trailers under warranty, and the warranty records showed that repairs had been made due to a manufacturing defect. The plaintiff’s also presented evidence of a later design change and evidence that Trailmobile had made hundreds of similar repairs to trailers manufactured in 1995-1997 and that several other similar accidents had occurred.

Trailmobile claimed the collision was caused by the driver’s speed and that the weldments broke only after the truck began rolling. Trailmobile also claimed that Freightways should have discovered any broken trailer weldments in annual and periodic inspections and that they had not performed proper inspections.

Charlotte, 53, suffered mild traumatic brain injury, abdominal injuries and a broken back in the crash. She was unconscious at the scene, and subsequent CT scans showed a right occipital lobe infarct. The head injury resulted in impaired vision, chronic pain and deficits in memory, concentration and attention. Charlotte was totally disabled and unable to return to her job as a seamstress.

Trailmobile settled Robert’s case in January 2002 for $4.25 million. As part of that settlement the parties agreed to submit Charlotte’s case to arbitration, which resulted in a $2.15 million settlement paid entirely by Trailmobile.

Type of Action: Products Liability
Type of Injuries: Mild traumatic brain injury, abdominal injuries and broken back
Court/Case Number/Date: Greene County Circuit Court/ 199CC3486/May 14, 2002
Caption: Schubert, et al. v. Trailmobile Trailer, L.L.C. and Freightways, Inc.
Judge, Jury or ADR: Arbitration
Name of Judge: Arbitrators: Richard H. Ralston, Polsinelli, Shalton & Welte, Kansas City; John E. Turner, Turner & Sweeny, Kansas City; and James D. Griffin, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin, Kansas City
Verdict or Settlement: $2.15 million settlement
Special Damages: $79,805 past medical expense; $910,709 future medical expense; $453,759 lost income
Allocation of Fault: N/A
Last Offer: N/A
Last Demand: N/A
Attorneys for Plaintiff: The Strong-Garner-Bauer, Springfield
Insurance Carrier: Zurich American (primary), AIG (excess)
Plaintiff’s Experts: Larry Botkin, Omaha, Neb. (trailer engineer); Larry Cox, Springfield (economist); Dr. Dale Halfaker, Springfield (neuropsychologist); Chris Ramsay, Rolla (metallurgist); Wilbur Swearingen, Springfield (vocational rehabilitation); Dr. Terry Winkler, Springfield (physical medicine and rehabilitation)
Defendant’s Experts: For Trailmobile – Robert Larson, Phoenix, Ariz. (accident reconstructionist); for Freightways – James Briem, St. Louis (metallurgist); Bruno Schmidt, Springfield (accident reconstructionist)