Jury Orders $280 Million Payment, Largest Ever Verdict Against Trucking Company

Aug 30, 2019 at 09:04 AM CST
After a fatal accident in 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the truck driver who caused the crash, his carrier, and the carrier’s parent company. A Georgia jury has found all three liable for the death of one of the accident’s victims, and awarded her family what is believed to be the largest ever verdict against a trucking company: $280 million. Judy Madere, a 58-year-old woman, was riding in a car driven by her daughter when the accident occurred on July 18th, 2016. Her twin sister and two of her granddaughters were also passengers in the car. When Kenneth Cathey’s truck crossed over the center line of U.S. 80 in Alabama and struck their vehicle head-on, all five occupants of the car lost their lives. Plaintiff’s attorneys claim that the truck crossed into oncoming traffic when Cathey fell asleep at the wheel. Cathey claims that he had swerved to avoid hitting a dog that was in the roadway, though that account has been disputed.

Aug 30, 2019 at 09:04 AM CST

After a fatal accident in 2016, a lawsuit was filed against the truck driver who caused the crash, his carrier, and the carrier’s parent company. A Georgia jury has found all three liable for the death of one of the accident’s victims, and awarded her family what is believed to be the largest ever verdict against a trucking company: $280 million. Judy Madere, a 58-year-old woman, was riding in a car driven by her daughter when the accident occurred on July 18th, 2016. Her twin sister and two of her granddaughters were also passengers in the car. When Kenneth Cathey’s truck crossed over the center line of U.S. 80 in Alabama and struck their vehicle head-on, all five occupants of the car lost their lives. Plaintiff’s attorneys claim that the truck crossed into oncoming traffic when Cathey fell asleep at the wheel. Cathey claims that he had swerved to avoid hitting a dog that was in the roadway, though that account has been disputed.