Postal Worker Struck by Commercial Truck at Loading Dock Settles Claim for $1.5M
On behalf of Brown & Crouppen, P.C. on Friday, July 23, 2010
Postal Worker Struck by Commercial Truck at Loading Dock Settles Claim for $1.5M A postal worker who was pinned between two trucks after a driver tried to pull away from a loading dock has settled his personal injury claim against the driver’s employer for $1.5 million.
A U.S. Postal Service employee was backing his truck up to a post office loading dock in downtown St. Louis. When one of the wheels of the truck bumped against a wheel chock, the postal worker got out to remove the obstruction. As he was doing so, a truck owned by a private mail company pulled forward and pinned the postal worker against his truck. As a result, the postal worker suffered serious injuries including a fractured pelvis and left acetabulum and a ruptured bladder.
The postal worker and his wife filed suit against the private mail company and its driver. The plaintiffs were represented by Brown & Crouppen’s James P. Lemonds and Andrea D. McNairy. In the petition, the plaintiffs alleged private mail company failed to equip its truck with the devices its drivers needed to detect the presence of people, that it failed to have side-view mirrors big enough to eliminate blind spots, that the side-view mirrors weren’t independently adjustable and that the trucks were not equipped with a side collision warning system or blind spot assist system. This failure to properly equip the trucks, the plaintiffs alleged, was negligent and careless and demonstrated a complete indifference or conscious disregard for others that warranted punitive damages. In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that the private mail company failed to properly train and supervise its driver. Without admitting liability, the defendant agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million.
Postal Worker Struck by Commercial Truck at Loading Dock Settles Claim for $1.5M A postal worker who was pinned between two trucks after a driver tried to pull away from a loading dock has settled his personal injury claim against the driver’s employer for $1.5 million. A U.S. Postal Service employee was backing his truck up to a post office loading dock in downtown St. Louis. When one of the wheels of the truck bumped against a wheel chock, the postal worker got out to remove the obstruction. As he was doing so, a truck owned by a private mail company pulled forward and pinned the postal worker against his truck. As a result, the postal worker suffered serious injuries including a fractured pelvis and left acetabulum and a ruptured bladder.
The postal worker and his wife filed suit against the private mail company and its driver. The plaintiffs were represented by Brown & Crouppen’s James P. Lemonds and Andrea D. McNairy. In the petition, the plaintiffs alleged private mail company failed to equip its truck with the devices its drivers needed to detect the presence of people, that it failed to have side-view mirrors big enough to eliminate blind spots, that the side-view mirrors weren’t independently adjustable and that the trucks were not equipped with a side collision warning system or blind spot assist system. This failure to properly equip the trucks, the plaintiffs alleged, was negligent and careless and demonstrated a complete indifference or conscious disregard for others that warranted punitive damages. In addition, the plaintiffs claimed that the private mail company failed to properly train and supervise its driver. Without admitting liability, the defendant agreed to settle the case for $1.5 million.