$2 Million Verdict for Wrongful Death of Tractor-Trailer Truck Driver
Gilreath & Associates, together with Sevierville-based attorney Charmaine Nichols and lead counsel Bo Bruner with the Alabama firm of Lanny Vines & Associates, obtained a $2 million jury verdict for the wrongful death of truck driver Reginald Smith. After a five day trial, the Knoxville, Knox County jury returned their verdict on January 21, 2009, against defendants Blalock Construction Company and the State of Tennessee.
On May 2, 2003, truck driver Reginald Smith was traveling on Pellissippi Parkway in Alcoa, Tennessee. At that time, Pellissippi Parkway was being worked on by Sevierville-based Blalock Construction Company and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The Parkway then ended at Cusick Road in Alcoa. Mr. Smith was traveling in the construction zone near Cusick Road when he lost control of his tractor-trailer. The truck rolled onto its side and slid down the Parkway into a metal crash barrier. At impact, the crash barrier, which had not been bolted to the concrete highway divider, cut into the truck cab and impaled Mr. Smith.
The lawsuit alleged that Mr. Smith survived the truck rolling onto its side and that he would not have died but for the crash barrier slicing into the truck cab. According to the suit, employees of Blalock Construction and the State of Tennessee were negligent in that they knew the barrier was supposed to be bolted to the concrete highway divider for the safety of motorists. Nonetheless, they allegedly left it unbolted for their convenience on the day of the collision because they planned to move it the next day.
In rendering their verdict, the jury found Mr. Smith 25% at fault and found Blalock and the State of
