• Confidential $3.6 Million Pre-Suit Settlement Involving a Fatal Truck Accident

Sommers Schwartz attorneys Michael J. Cunningham and Matthew C. Curtis recently negotiated a $3.6 million pre-suit settlement for the family of a tractor-trailer operator killed in a fatal crash in the State of Indiana. 

The decedent husband and father of two young children was driving his semi-tractor trailer in Indiana on his way home to Michigan when the vehicle developed a mechanical problem at approximately 11:20 p.m. He pulled his truck off the road and parked on the right-hand shoulder to address the issue. Once on the shoulder, he activated the vehicle’s hazard lights, exited his cab, and stood near the truck.

While operating his semi-tractor trailer, the defendant approached the decedent’s truck in the highway’s right lane. The defendant later told the investigating officers he observed the decedent’s vehicle and tried to change lanes to the left but encountered a passenger vehicle. The defendant overcorrected to the right and struck the left side of the decedent’s truck, continued to sideswipe the parked semi-tractor trailer, and struck the decedent. The impact threw the decedent approximately 85 feet from the front of his vehicle onto the right shoulder of the interstate and into the grass.  

Mike and Matt resolved the case for the decedent’s family in mediation, avoiding potentially lengthy litigation. They secured compensation for the family that included the decedent’s lost future earnings and the loss of his love, guidance, and service to his household, children, and parents. Unfortunately, the pain and suffering of the decedent was not a compensable injury in the State of Indiana under its Wrongful Death Statute.

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