Trial Magazine
Verdicts & Settlements: Workplace Safety
Negligent Maintenance of Trailer
January 2019
Forklift operator Olynthus Davis, 36, was loading a tractor-trailer equipped with a securement system consisting of metal tracks running the length of the trailer. As Davis operated his forklift inside the trailer, the end of one of the tracks pierced the cargo area and impaled his left leg near the knee. The impact also forced his right elbow into the steering wheel.
Davis underwent debridement and multiple wound care procedures. He required a wheelchair for several weeks and used crutches and a walker for several months. He also underwent an ulnar nerve exploration and has been diagnosed as having a neuroma, which will require surgery. His medical expenses exceeded $87,300, and his past lost earnings totaled more than $54,600. He is currently unable to work.
Davis sued Xtra Lease, LLC, the owner of the tractor-trailer, and AAA Cooper Transportation, the trailer’s lessee, alleging negligent maintenance and repair of the trailer. The plaintiff’s expert argued that the track had loosened and flexed away from the trailer’s wall because some rivets were damaged.
The jury awarded over $2.5 million, apportioning liability at 50 percent to Xtra Lease, 40 percent to AAA Cooper, and 10 percent to Davis.
Citation: Davis v. AAA Cooper Transp., No. DC-16-10773 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Dallas Cnty. Feb. 14, 2018).
Plaintiff counsel: Michael T. O’Connor, AAJ member Dean Malone, and Royce West, all of Dallas.
Plaintiff experts: Jason Marchetti, physical medicine, Coppell, Texas; Ralph Scott, economics, Conway, Ark.; Pete Sullivan, trucks, Houston; and David Zehr, hand surgery, Dallas.
