Orange County 18-wheeler Collision Case Reaches $8.5 Million Settlement

An $8.5 million settlement was reached for a fatal car accident in February 2020. The Nacogdoches family secured the settlement four days before the case was set to go to trial in district court.

The accident took place in rural Orange County when a woman driving a 2000-passenger vehicle pulled into the path of the oncoming 18-wheeler driven by the deceased. The two vehicles collided, causing minor injuries to the woman driver and killing the truck driver. The woman claimed she pulled out because a commercial fuel truck parked alongside the road obstructed her view. 

Nacogdoches’ family lawyer, Paul Ferguson, commented, “The first question we asked was ‘why did this woman pull out?’ and the answer became clear – she couldn’t see.  And a commercial truck should not park near an intersection to cause such a risk.”

A large number of details of the settlement are confidential. Multiple accident reconstructions and a video recreation were used in the case.

“All of those things were important but the deposition of the driver who had parked alongside the road proved definitive,” Ferguson added. “That deposition was nearly 200 pages, and the driver was forced to admit time and time again that he parked in an unsafe place. Also critical was the trial deposition of the investigating police officer. He had initially placed all blame on this poor woman who simply couldn’t see. By the end of his testimony, the officer but conceded every point we wanted to make.”

The deceased truck driver was survived by his wife and three children.

https://setexasrecord.com/stories/618772100-ferguson-law-secures-8-5-million-settlement-in-orange-county-18-wheeler-collision-case