A jury delivered a verdict last month against R+L Carriers after a man driving a vehicle in Illinois rear-ended a slow-moving tractor with a double-combination trailer re-entering a highway.
The jury awarded over $10 million to the family of the man, who left behind a wife, two daughters and a son. Jurors assigned 40% of the negligence to the deceased driver and 60% to the carrier and its truck driver, resulting in a $6.015 million award.
“The $10,025,000 was damages only, the jury's assessment of the full harm,” Gabriel Aprati, an attorney representing the family, said in an email. That amount involved factors such as loss of benefits, goods and services; grief, sorrow and mental suffering; and loss of society and companionship.
Illinois’ modified comparative negligence standard requires an individual party to be less than 50% at fault to recover damages, and the recoverable amount can be reduced proportionally based on blame assigned, the state notes.
The crash happened on a November 2020 weekday morning around 5:20 a.m. on Interstate 55 in Pitman Township south of Springfield, according to an amended complaint.
The truck “pulled onto the interstate from the shoulder at 5-10 miles per hour on a 70+ miles per hour highway,” the law firm for the family said in a verdict announcement. The truck was trying to accelerate from a stopped position but did so improperly and without signaling, according to the complaint.
John Barnes was driving a 2015 Chevrolet Express when he was unable to react and died, according to the law firm.
During the case, attorneys for the carrier denied allegations of negligence, suggesting Barnes may have failed to properly observe his surroundings, yield appropriately and operate safely.
Trucking Dive reached out to the company on July 2 and 6 and its attorney on Monday, too. The publication will update its story when possible.
