Settlement resolves truck crash that killed motorist, injured passenger

The parties to a suit over a fatal tractor-trailer collision reached a $12.25 million dollar settlement, according to plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Robert Curran of Curran Law Firm in Springfield, one of the attorneys in the case, said a tractor-trailer driver wasn’t paying attention and struck the rear of a car stopped in a construction zone. The driver of the car was killed, and the adult female passenger suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as spinal and other fractures.

Curran said the case involved numerous complex issues, including claims of negligent selection of a motor carrier, insurance coverage disputes under multiple policies, the applicability of Missouri’s intrastate motor carrier leasing regulations and the applicability and effects of multiple changes to Missouri insurance law.

Curran said the settlement won court approval in January 2023 but declined to provide other details, citing a confidentiality agreement.

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$12.25 million settlement

Motor Vehicle Collision, Wrongful Death

Venue: Confidential Missouri court

Case Number/Date: Confidential/January 2023

Special Damages: $600,000 in paid medical expenses

Plaintiffs’ Experts: Michelle Beach (accident reconstructionist); Dr. Roger Huckfeldt (life care planner); Alicia Hiles (vocational rehabilitation); John McGowan (economist); Dr. Randall Benson (neurologist)

Caption: Confidential

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Robert D. Curran, Curran Law Firm, Springfield; Peter J. Kestner, McEwen & Kestner, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota; Christopher P. Martineau, Johnson Martineau, St. Paul, Minnesota

Defendants’ Attorneys: Confidential