THE BLUE SHEET

Auto/18-Wheeler/Negligence/Gross Negligence/Wrongful Death – Parked

trucker was sued for the death of a passenger in a rear-ending vehicle 

$18 million award, Bexar County

STYLE:                                                      Angie Flores v. JoAnn M. Castaneda;

                                                                   No. CA99-CI-10812SE (Bexar Co., Texas, Dist. Ct.)

PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEY:                      Daniel J.T. Sciano of San Antonio, Texas’ Tinsman & Houser, Inc.; Scott M. Bage of San Antonio’s Bustamante & Bage; and David McQuade Leibowitz of San Antonio’s David McQuade Leibowitz

DEFENSE ATTORNEYS:                       Wayne B. Mason, D. Randall Montgomery and Jeff Rose of Dallas and Austin, Texas’ Strasburger & Price; and Gary W. Mayton and Joe McClellan of San Antonio’s Kelly O’Connor Law Offices

TYPE OF CLAIM:                                     Auto/18-Wheeler/Negligence/Gross Negligence/Wrongful Death – Parked trucker was blamed for the death of a passenger in rear-ending vehicle.

A tractor-trailer owned by Contract Freighter, Inc. (CFI) and operated by Charles Edward Jones, who was in the course and scope of his employment, was parked in the emergency lane of IH-35 South, approximately 900 feet past a rest area near Natalia, Texas at 2:30 a.m. on August 1, 1997.  JoAnn M. Castaneda, driving her 1990 Toyota Celica, was southbound on IH-35.  Her best friend, Rebecca Lugo, age 31, an employee of the San Antonio Fire Department, was asleep in the right passenger seat.  Ms. Castaneda, who had been awake for 20 ½ hours, admitted to drinking two whiskey sours at a nightclub over a five-hour period.  She crashed her car into the rear of the parked 18-wheeler at a speed of 40-45 mph.  The right half of her automobile wedged under the rear of the trailer, causing the trailer to intrude into the passenger compartment and killing Rebecca Lugo.

Plaintiffs alleged that Jones parked his truck in an emergency lane without an emergency, which was unsafe and prohibited and created a dangerous situation.  Plaintiff relied on a known phenomenon in the trucking industry that trucks parked at night appear to be moving when, in fact, they are parked.  Plaintiffs claimed this contributed to the fatality.  Plaintiffs alleged that CFI management was aware of the phenomenon, but did not train its truckers about it.

Jones said he was sleeping at the time of the collision, and that he was parked in the emergency lane because the rest area was full.  He admitted he knew parking in the emergency lane was risky and that he was being indifferent to other drivers.  He said he had been parked in the emergency lane for at least one hour.  Jones also admitted that he missed 84 driver safety meetings, and that he had falsified time logs on his prior trip to San Antonio, in violation of Federal Motor Carrier Regulations.

Plaintiffs pointed to the truck’s Highway Master System and Global Positioning System, which recorded data that Plaintiffs said would have confirmed that the truck was parked in the emergency lane; however, the data was destroyed by CFI one year and two months after the accident.  CFI responded that the data was never requested by Plaintiffs, and besides, Jones admitted he was parked in the emergency lane for one hour.

CFI and Mr. Jones denied liability and contended that the collision was solely caused by Castaneda, who allegedly failed to stay in her lane, had been drinking alcohol, and fell asleep at the wheel.  Castaneda testified that she saw the large truck and did not recognize it as a hazard.  She admitted that all she had to do to avoid hitting the truck was to stay in her lane.  Jones had activated his four-way emergency flashers when he stopped, and they were still operating at the time of the accident.

Plaintiffs responded that the Federal Regulations require safety triangles be placed within 10 minutes of parking.  Jones never placed any emergency warning devices.

Castaneda did tell a DPS trooper that she had blinked and fallen asleep at the wheel.  The trooper found no fault on CFI’s driver.

DAMAGES:                                             Death of Rebecca Lugo, single mother, who had sole custody of her children, Oscar Jordan Lugo, Jr., age five and Miranda Rae Lugo, age three.

                                                                 Angie Flores and Leo Arambula, the biological parents of Rebecca Lugo, claimed loss of consortium.

                                                               JoAnn Castaneda suffered neck and back (cervical and lumbar) injuries, as well as severe bruising to her nose and hips.  She also sustained a laceration to her head that required 15 stitches.

EXPERTS:     Plaintiffs                     James Lock, Collision Research Associates, accident reconstruction, College Station

                                                            Bill Hewitt, SALT Institute, trucking expert, Phoenix, AZ (deposition taken; not called at trial)

                        Defendants                Whitney Morgan, Motor Carrier Safety Consulting, Inc., trucking expert, Birmingham, AL (video deposition)

                                                            Wesley Grimes, accident reconstruction, Phoenix AZ (deposition taken; not called at trial)

VERDICT:                                               Jury found CFI 50%; Jones 40% and Castaneda 10% negligent.  Awarded:

                                                                    $3,500,000 for Oscar Jordan Lugo, Jr.

                                                                       3,500,000 for Miranda Rae Lugo

                                                                          500,000 for Leo Arambula

                                                                          500,000 for Angie Flores

                                                                    10,000,000 punitive damages against CFI

                                                                            12,000 funeral expenses

                                                                 $18,012,000 Total Award

                                                                 (Plaintiffs anticipate that the prejudgment interest, the total verdict, absent tort reform, would be in excess of $20 million dollars.  However, Section 41.008 of the Civil Practices and Remedies Code limits exemplary damages to two times the economic loss, plus $750,000 per claimant.  Defense counsel contends the punitive damages will be reduced to $4.75 million)

                                                                 12-0 (one month trial)

                                                                 Verdict Date:   02-05-2001

SIDELIGHTS:                                        During deliberations, the jury sent out a note the Judge asking, “Can the court order. CFI must provide mandatory, paid safety courses each year for all CDL drivers employed by CFI?”

                                                                 CFI sent the vice president of safety to the scene by corporate jet, as well as a claims adjuster, an accident reconstructionist and a board certified personal injury lawyer, to investigate the accident.