Summerville, South Carolina – Steinberg Law Firm has obtained a $25 million settlement for a woman who was rear-ended by a commercial dump truck while stopped along U.S. Highway 78 in rural Dorchester County.
The collision occurred on a clear afternoon on a straight, two-lane stretch of U.S. 78 between Ridgeville and St. George, where the posted speed limit is 45 mph. According to court documents, the quad-axle dump truck rear-ended the woman’s car at nearly 60 mph as she was idle.
Attorney Wilson Jackson led the case and partnered with co-counsel David Williams of Williams & Williams Attorneys at Law. The matter resolved in mediation approximately three months before a scheduled jury trial and after nearly two years of litigation.
According to deposition testimony and discovery documents, the truck was equipped with a Samsara telematics system, including dual-facing cameras and real-time safety alerts. Footage from the truck’s dash camera captured the final seconds before impact. The driver initially wrote on their employer’s accident form that they “went into a daze,” and later admitted in deposition that they had fallen asleep and were speeding.
A court-ordered forensic download of the driver’s cellphone indicated that he had been awake since before 4 a.m. and was texting throughout his shift in violation of the company’s written phone policy. The records also showed that less than five minutes before the wreck, he was downloading or watching a video. Text messages obtained in the same download showed that within 30 minutes of the truck wreck, the driver was arranging to obtain synthetic urine ahead of a federally required post-accident drug screen.
Internal safety data produced by the motor carrier in native format showed that, during his first five weeks on the job, the Samsara system had flagged the driver 14 times for severe speeding and inattentive driving.
Coaching logs reflected only three counseling sessions, the last for severe speeding three days before the crash, with recommended remedial training repeatedly marked “never assigned.” Payroll and telematics data indicated that the driver was working up to 17-hour days without maintaining formal records of duty status, in excess of federal hours-of-service limits.
The plaintiff was diagnosed with a concussion and post-concussive syndrome. She developed post-traumatic headaches requiring periodic Botox injections, post-traumatic stress centered on driving, a cervical disc herniation and a lumbar disc bulge treated with injections, physical therapy and cognitive and psychological care. After a failed attempt to return on light duty, she was unable to resume the full duties of the job she had held for 10 years.
“The electronic record in this case, from telematics to phone data, told a story that would not have been visible from the crash scene alone,” Mr. Jackson said in a written statement. “Commercial carriers operate in a data-rich environment, and preserving that information promptly can be critical for injured people seeking to understand what happened to them.”
According to the firms, the settlement reflects compensation for the plaintiff’s injuries and lost career as well as the safety and compliance issues revealed through the discovery process. The names of the parties and the case number remain confidential under the terms of the settlement agreement.
Founded nearly a century ago, Steinberg Law Firm represents injured people in truck and motor vehicle cases throughout South Carolina from offices in North Charleston, Goose Creek, and Summerville.
Disclaimer: Past results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
To learn more about the firm, visit steinberglawfirm.com.
The Steinberg Law Firm has been assisting victims of negligence in South Carolina since 1927 including personal injury, workers’ compensation, and car accidents. For more information, please contact the firm at 843-720-2800 or visit our website at https://www.steinberglawfirm.com/.
Steinberg Law Firm
3955 Faber Place Drive, Suite 300 North Charleston SC 29405
(843) 720-2800
[email protected]
https://www.steinberglawfirm.com/
Press Contact : Patti Baron
Distributed by Law Firm Newswire
