On August 21, 2024, Attorneys Bryan Comer and Lacey Smith obtained a jury verdict of $1,318,000 for a serious motor vehicle collision caused by a wheel separation from a trailer on Interstate 65. The jury returned a verdict against the maintenance company that failed to properly secure the wheels after performing work on the trailer.
The following article “Trailer Maintenance Negligence” appeared in Alabama Jury Verdict Reporter (November 2024, page 7)
Trailer Maintenance Negligence
The plaintiff suffered an L-4 fracture when the pickup in which he was riding on the interstate collided with a tire that had detached from a cargo trailer being towed by a vehicle in front of him; the plaintiff blamed the incident on both the driver of the other vehicle and the company that had recently performed maintenance on the trailer.
Deakle v. Absolute Trailers, LLC., et al., 22-900830
Plaintiff: Bryan E. Comer and Lacey D. Smith, Tobias & Comer Law, LLC., Mobile
Defense: Michelle L. Hendrix and Gregory Harris, II, Vernis & Bowling of Northwest Florida, P.A., Pensacola, FL, for Absolute Trailers; Steven P. Savarese, Jr., Holtsford, Gilliland, Hitson, Howard, Stevens, Tuley & Saverese, P.C., Daphne, for Castillo
Verdict: $1,318,000 for plaintiff (comprised of $659,000 compensatory and $659,000 punitive) against Absolute Trailers; defense verdict for Castillo
Circuit: Mobile, 8-21-24
Judge: Brandy B. Hambright
In early April of 2022, Pascual Castillo and his wife, Maria, were planning on driving from their home in Gainesville, GA to their native Mexico. The plan was that they would make the trip in their Ford E- 350 van while towing a 2018 Horton cargo trailer loaded with their belongings. Castillo would drive while Maria would ride with him as a front-seat passenger.
The cargo trailer was allegedly in a state of disrepair, and so Maria arranged for maintenance to be done on it in preparation for the long drive. In particular, Maria arranged for the trailer’s brakes and hubs to be replaced.
The work was done by a repair shop called Absolute Trailers, LLC. located near the Castillos’ home. The job required the Absolute Trailers technician to remove all four of the trailer’s tires, replace the brakes and hubs, and then reattach the tires.
The maintenance work was completed on 4-7-22, and the Castillos set out on their journey. Two days later, on 4-9-22, the Castillos had made it to southern Alabama. Pascual was driving south on I-65 in Mobile County while Maria rode with him as a front-seat passenger when disaster struck.
Directly behind the Castillos was a white Ford F-250 pickup truck in which Brandon Deakle was riding as a backseat passenger. At a point near mile marker 16, the front driver’s side tire on the trailer detached and rolled under the pickup in which Deakle was riding.
The impact caused the pickup to become momentarily airborne.
When it came back down the force of the landing caused Deakle to suffer a closed L-4 fracture. He reports that it still causes him pain to this day. The record does not reveal the amount of Deakle’s medical expenses.
Deakle filed suit against Castillo and blamed him for failing to maintain his trailer in a safe condition. Deakle later amended his complaint to add a claim against Absolute Trailers for failing to perform the maintenance properly.
If successful, Deakle sought both compensatory and punitive damages against both Castillo and Absolute Trailers.
Finally, Deakle presented underinsured motorist claims against Integon National Insurance Company and USAA Casualty Insurance Company.
Integon National paid its policy limits and was dismissed from the case. USAA remained in the case but opted out. The litigation proceeded against Castillo and Absolute Trailers.
The specific allegation against Absolute Trailers was that its technician had failed to tighten the lug nuts on the trailer tires. In support of this theory Deakle noted that a friend of Castillo repaired the trailer after the crash and found all the lug nuts on the remaining tires were loose.
Castillo and Absolute Trailers defended the case and pointed the finger of blame at each other.
Castillo joined Deakle in blaming the incident on the negligence of Absolute Trailers’s technician in failing to tighten the lug nuts. Absolute Trailers, by contrast, blamed the incident on Castillo for not stopping every 50 to 100 miles along his journey to make sure the lug nuts were still secure.
The case was tried for three days in Mobile. The jury returned a mixed verdict that exonerated Castillo but found against Absolute Trailers. The jury awarded Deakle compensatory damages of $659,000 solely against Absolute Trailers. To that amount, the jury added another $659,000 in punitive damages.
That brought Deakle’s award to a combined total of $1,318,000 solely against Absolute Trailers. The court entered a judgment for that amount, and a defense judgment for Castillo. Absolute Trailers has satisfied the judgment.
Read more about Tobias & Comer Law’s successful verdicts and settlements here.