Brake Explosion Blinds Truck Driver (Settlement terms confidential)

In 2006, Mr. A was working exclusively for a Trucking Company as a so-called independent contractor. When the company’s trailer he was hauling experienced severe brake problems, the company first ordered him to try and fix it himself. Then, the company ordered him to haul the defective trailer to a distant truck yard. As the brake dragged along the way to the yard, it caught fire. Mr. A jumped out and tried to put the fire out. As he did, the tire exploded in his face. Hot rubber destroyed the vision in one eye and left his face and upper body scarred for life. The case settled one week before trial on confidential settlement terms. P&D took all steps to preserve the evidence, and retained a professional engineer to examine and reconstruct the cause of the brake problem. P&D filed suit in Miami and prevailed on Rinker’s efforts to move the case to a trucking arbitration panel. Litigation and discovery thereafter proceeded under the Florida Rules of Procedure. The case settled on confidential terms on the eve of trial in 2008.