Swift Transportation Driver on Meth Leads to $23. 5 Million Verdict for Yellow Freight Employee with Severe Spinal Cord Injury

A  federal court jury in  Kansas has returned a $23.5 million verdict arising from a 2006 wreck in New Mexico, according to an article by Ron Sylvester of the Wichita Eagle. The court cut the amount to $15.3 million because the jury decided the driver of the Swift Transportation was only 65 percent at fault even though she was on methamphetamine.

The  Swift  driver was backing into the highway from a rest stop when she hit a Yellow Freight truck. The Swift driver  tested positive for methamphetamine. She claimed she was rear-ended but accident reconstruction proved her version of the incident was not true.

The  of the Yellow Freight driver was killed and the passenger / co-driver had a catastrophic spinal cord injury. This verdict was for the spinal cord injury victim. The wrongful death case is set for trail next spring.

Swift Transportation was hit with a $36.5 million verdict last year in an Arizona case brought by  the family of a man killed in a collision with a Swift truck.

At this firm we frequently represent truck drivers who are injured by the negligence of other truckers. We are always available to review such incidents.

Ken Shigley is a seasoned Georgia trial lawyer focused on cases of catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death. He has served as chair of the Southeastern Motor Carrier Liability Institute, and is a frequent speaker at national continuing legal education programs on trucking liability cases. Mr. Shigley has been rated as a “Super Lawyer” (Atlanta Magazine), one of the “Legal Elite” (Georgia Trend Magazine), and a Certified Civil Trial Advocate (National Board of Trial Advocacy,). He served a decade on the faculty of the Emory University Law School Trial Techniques Program.  Mr. Shigley is currently Secretary of the 40,000 member State Bar of Georgia.  To increase capacity for handling more and larger cases, he recently became “of counsel” with the law firm of Chambers, Aholt & Rickard which has an extensive trucking liability practice.