Southeast Missouri Driver Settles for $950K in Crash with Delivery Truck

Stoddard County Settlement for $950,000 in Severe Rear-end Collision

A southeast Missouri man was rear-ended in his pick-up truck by a cabinet delivery truck driver. The suit against the delivery truck driver, a repeat traffic offender and his employer settled for nearly $1 million.

Plaintiff had slowed on westbound Route U in Stoddard County while preparing to turn left onto a county road in his Ford Ranger when he was struck from behind by another pickup according to the report by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on September 17, 2015. The driver of the rear-ending vehicle, a Dodge Ram 3500, claimed the Plaintiff had “slowed quickly and began to make an abrupt left turn and claimed Plaintiff had not activated the turn signal. Plaintiff indicated he had turned on his turn signal and then looked in his rearview mirror and saw the defendant crashing into him.

The severity of the crash left police unable to determine which account was correct. Both vehicles were forced off the roadway and both were total losses.

The defendant was making cabinet deliveries for his Ripley County employer. The trailer was empty at the time of the crash, but the empty trailer and the pickup to which it was attached weighed between 10,000 and 25,000 pounds, according to the suit.

The Plaintiff was taken via ambulance to the hospital complaining of neck and back pain. His injuries ultimately required a lumbar fusion surgery. Attorney Andrew Mundwiller said that Plaintiff’s bills exceeding $175,00 and lost wages topping $20,000. The lawsuit was dismissed after a late January settlement with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company for $950,000, alleges that the Defendant didn’t pay sufficient attention and followed the Plaintiff too closely while speeding. The complaint also cites the cabinet company and owner for inadequate screening of its employee’s driving record. Missouri online court reports several driving infractions as well as video deposition where it was found the delivery driver had been involved in other motor vehicle crashes within nine months of striking the Plaintiff.