Impending trial prompts $16M settlement for crash victim

A woman who was severely injured in a crash with a tanker truck reached a $16 million settlement with a trucking company, according to her attorney.

On May 9, 2019, a Liquid Transport Corp. tractor tanker ran a red light at the intersection of Highway 60 and Route Y in Mountain View, T-boning the pickup truck in which Virginia Cianciolo was a passenger. She was air-lifted from the scene to a hospital, where she was treated for brain injuries, crushed ribs and broken vertebra in her spine. She underwent surgeries and spent a month in rehabilitation.

Cianciolo was disabled due to blindness before the crash. She now has short-term memory problems that require her to be supervised, and she also lives with severe pain due to her orthopedic injuries. 

Chandler Gregg of Strong-Garner-Bauer, an attorney for Cianciolo, said the case was set to go to trial in the first week of March in Howell County Circuit Court. Gregg said the trial court’s decision to proceed, with COVID-19 protocols in place, prompted the parties to evaluate their positions.

“There is no way the case would have settled except for the fact that we were for sure going to get a trial,” he said. 

Gregg said both parties prepared life-care plans, with the plaintiffs claiming more than $10.8 million in future care, while the defense set its value at between $1.28 million to $2.4 million. Attorneys for the defendant didn’t return calls or respond to emails seeking comment. 

According to court records, other Cianciolo family members who were injured in the crash reached separate confidential settlements. 

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