Houston, Texas- Owner and Founder, Sam A. Maida, Jr., Litigation Managing Attorney, Bernard G. Johnson III, and Senior Associate Attorney Gabriel de Vega of Maida Law Firm secured a $1,000,000 settlement for a grandfather who was riding in the back seat of his family’s pickup when an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer rear-ended it on the Katy Freeway.
Our client’s son-in-law was driving the family westbound in the Katy Freeway HOV lane when they stopped for traffic. A tractor-trailer that was prohibited from the HOV lane came up behind them. By the truck driver’s own estimate, he was going 55 to 60 mph. The driver of the pickup saw the truck coming and tried to get out of the way but could not. The Harris County deputy constable recorded the truck driver’s failure to control speed as the only contributing factor and noted he was traveling unlawfully in the HOV lane.
What Made the Case Unique
Our depositions of the trucking company’s owner and its driver uncovered and exposed a near-total failure to follow federal safety rules. The company:
had no completed application for the driver
- did no meaningful check with his prior employers
- gave him no road test
- kept no driver qualification file
- never gave him the federal motor carrier safety regulations handbook, and had no training or safety materials
The driver’s own testimony was just as damaging. He admitted to a prior collision he had not disclosed in discovery. He conceded he could have been handling his phone instead of watching the road. He said he entered the HOV lane to beat traffic, and he agreed the crash would not have happened if he hadn’t.
We amended the petition to seek exemplary damages. The defense argued that our client’s son-in-law driver was partly at fault, which forced the family to add him to the lawsuit and put real strain on their relationship.
The crash left our client with constant head and neck pain. Headaches wake him most nights. He also has blurred vision and trouble with concentration, memory, and finding words. He lost his job as a state director for a medical transportation company in September 2020.
Liability and Legal Strategy
We filed suit in Harris County district court. We had a physician life care plan prepared, which projected more than $2.7 million in future care, including cervical fusion surgery. We then served a final time-limited Stowers demand based on the $1,000,000.00 in available coverage.
Client Outcome
The case resolved for $1,000,000.
Hit by an 18-wheeler in Houston? Call Maida Law Firm at (713) 785-9484.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.
Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and depends on its own facts.