Four years after a fatal truck accident in Rockford, IL, a jury has returned a historic $15 million verdict for the victim’s family.
The case centered on a truck driver who appeared to fall asleep at the wheel moments before rear-ending the victim’s car at full speed, as revealed by a dash-cam video. Plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that their investigation found that the case was about much more than one tired driver. They claimed there was no culture of safety at the trucking company, and that the company’s pattern of lapses led to the fatal accident. The jury agreed.
Attorneys Benjamin A. Crane, Stephen M. Blecha, and Blake M. Vance of Coplan + Crane represented the plaintiffs, along with co-counsel Darrin Doak.
“While no verdict can ever truly compensate for the loss of a mother’s life, we believe that this decision will bring some degree of closure for the family,” attorney Crane said. “We effectively put the trucking company on trial and held them accountable for their failure to ensure that their drivers were safe, dependable operators. Our hope is that the verdict will make our roads safer and prevent other families from suffering as this one has.”
