Why Bald Tires Led to a $26.5 Million Dollar Settlement…

If I had to summarize WHY this settlement was so large it would be a single word.
That word would be notice.

When a company knows that there is a significant safety problem and they choose to do nothing about it, you have the ingredients of a very very angry jury.

You don’t need to be Clarence Darrow to figure this out.

Common sense should tell you.

Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully thinks that was the underlying legal linchpin that led to this settlement.

The defendants knew the tires were bald.
They knew that there was a severe danger to allowing the bald tires to stay on the truck.

Despite that they chose to put someone at risk in order to save some $$.
I guess if the vehicle had been taken out of service for a day or so to change the tires it would’ve cut into their profit.

The company chose instead to take a chance and not change the bald tires.
Terrible choice.

An absolute tragedy occurred.

An innocent man is now paralyzed for the rest of his life because of their decision.

Pittsburgh wrongful death, medical malpractice, car accident and criminal defense attorney Bernie Tully thinks that most people will agree no money can compensate someone for being paralyzed for life.

One final note for our discussion.

The insurance company didn’t settle this case because they felt bad for the paralyzed victim.

They settled this case because they were afraid of getting a much bigger verdict against them had they went to trial..

And that is why they settled this case.

Check out the Legal Intelligencer article below:

“The family of a lawn care worker who was paralyzed after he was thrown from a pick-up truck in a single-vehicle accident has settled with several corporate defendants for more than $26.5 million.

Plaintiff David Williams and his wife Jaimi Williams agreed to settle their claims against lawn care company TruGreen, its parent company ServiceMaster, and vehicle maintenance companies Dickinson Fleet Services and Brooks Auto Repair June 5. Trial in Williams v. TruGreen had been set to start June 6.
According to attorneys representing the Williams family, ServiceMaster and TruGreen will contribute $16.75 million, Dickinson will contribute $9.5 million, and Brooks will contribute $300,000.

The case came down to the fact that the rear tires of the TruGreen-owned truck that David Williams had been driving were almost completely bald, but the defendants did not take the truck out of service.
“Thirty-three days before the accident, the vehicle as inspected by Dickinson, and they said the tire failed to meet inspection standards,” the attorney said. “Despite the fact that all of them knew the tire was unsafe, none took it out of service.”
According to Williams’ pre-trial memo, he was driving a Ford F350 pick-up truck that was owned by TruGreen along State Road 220 in Clinton County in a rain storm, when the truck went off the road. The vehicle rolled, and Williams, who was 28 at the time, was ejected.
The crash caused cervical spine injuries that left Williams paralyzed from the chest down.

thanks for reading.

Bernie the Attorney.