Jury awards $1.5 M to 2 men injured in crash

Celadon Trucking said in a statement Thursday that the injuries were regrettable, but noted that the jury also found Ronny Martinez, who was driving, partly responsible for causing the accident.

The Associated Press

10/2/2008

INDIANAPOLIS — A Texas jury has awarded $1.5 million to two men injured when an Indiana-based tractor-trailer veered into their lane and hit their car, lawyers said.

Ronny Martinez, 37, and Kenneth O'Neal, 50, were traveling on a highway in Waxahachie, Texas, in 2006 when their car was struck by a truck operated by Celadon Trucking Services, Inc.

They filed a personal injury lawsuit against the Indianapolis-based company, saying it was negligent in hiring the truck driver and that the driver was negligent in causing the crash.

The jury award includes $750,000 for medical bills and another $750,000 for other actual damages such as pain and suffering or physical impairment, attorneys for Martinez and O'Neal said in a news release.

Celadon Trucking said in a statement Thursday that the injuries were regrettable, but noted that the jury also found Martinez, who was driving, partly responsible for causing the accident.

"Celadon does not hire trainee drivers, and has a very high safety standard relating to its drivers," said Steve Russell, the company's chairman and chief executive officer. "We are reviewing the jury verdict, and are considering our options regarding an appeal of the decision."

In 2005, Celadon Trucking agreed to pay $1.25 million to the parents of a soldier who died when his car rear-ended a tractor-trailer that stalled along a Texas highway in 2002 after its brake hose failed.

The husband-wife truck driving team in that case had tried to repair a high-pressure brake hose with a toothpick wrapped with tape.