September 5, 2024

$462 Million Verdict Following Fatal Truck Underride Crash

A St. Louis City jury rendered a $462 million verdict on Sept. 5, 2024, against trailer manufacturer Wabash National Corporation, finding the company responsible for a fatal underride crash involving two individuals.

Simon Law attorneys John G. Simon and Johnny M. Simon tried the case with co-counsel Brian Winebright of Cantor Injury Law and Lisa Tsacoumangos of Brown & Crouppen. The trial lasted two weeks, and the jury deliberated for about three hours before ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.

“We commend the courage of the families who brought this lawsuit to hold this company accountable for decades of failures to keep the public safe from preventable underride crashes,” said John G. Simon, Founder of Simon Law. “And we commend the service of the jurors in this case for sending the message that reckless disregard for human life won’t be tolerated in our community.”

The crash occurred on May 19, 2019, when a Volkswagen CC rear-ended a trailer manufactured by Wabash Corporation along Interstate 44/55 near the 7th Street exit. Upon impact, the trailer’s rear impact guard failed, allowing the vehicle to slide underneath the trailer in what is known as an underride crash.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines truck underride crashes as collisions in which a car slides under the body of a truck. It is estimated that between 15 to 20% of fatal accidents involving trucks are underride crashes, which often result in severe injuries or fatalities.

At trial, the plaintiffs’ attorneys demonstrated that Wabash ignored decades of research and warnings about the failures of its Rear Impact Guards (RIGs), which are supposed to prevent underride incidents.

“These children had a right to a father, but because of a decision Wabash made in a boardroom, all of that was taken from them,” Johnny M. Simon told the jury during closing arguments. “They were robbed of a lifetime of love.”

Some of the evidence presented at trial referenced the infamous 1967 underride crash that killed Golden-era Hollywood actress Jayne Mansfield.

During closing arguments, Johnny Simon emphasized that Wabash failed to implement safer RIGs for 30 years, despite the cost of doing so being approximately $15 million annually.

The jury awarded punitive damages of $450 million—an amount Simon estimated the corporation saved by failing to install safer RIGs over three decades. Compensatory damages included $6 million to each of the victims’ families.

“We hope the decision the jurors reached sends a clear message to the trucking and trailer industry and will finally force them to build safer trailers,” said co-counsel Brian Winebright of Cantor Injury Law.

A recent study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found inconsistencies in how police report underride crashes, revealing that these incidents are significantly undercounted. The true number of fatalities and injuries caused by underride crashes remains unknown.

Based on 2024 data, the plaintiffs’ attorneys presented evidence indicating at least 14,350 known fatalities involving rear underride crashes—a number that excludes deaths caused by side underride crashes, suggesting the actual total is much higher.

The attorneys also successfully argued that industry leaders have actively lobbied against federal regulations that would require RIGs to be designed to prevent underride at survivable speeds.

“We hope this case will begin to stop others from dying in these preventable underride accidents, as no amount of money will ever bring back the young men who needlessly lost their lives in this case,” said co-counsel Lisa Tsacoumangos of Brown & Crouppen.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident in St. Louis or surrounding areas, get help with your case from Brown & Crouppen Law Firm. Call (314) 501-9510 or request a free case evaluation online. And remember, we only get paid if you win.

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