On December 10, 2014, defendant truck driver James McCulloh was travelling westbound on Route 260 near Show Low. It was very foggy outside, but Mr. McCulloh decided not to slow down in his 18-wheeler, and was driving between 50-66mph in very limited visibility. At that time, plaintiff Robert Langford was driving his garbage truck on a side street that connected with Route 260. He stopped at the stop sign and looked both ways. Not seeing any vehicles coming, he turned right onto Route 260 and accelerated to 19-25mph. Mr. Langford drove 40 yards down the highway when, out of nowhere, defendant McCulloh crashed into him from behind at full speed. McCulloh never hit the brakes and never took any evasive action. The impact was so severe that plaintiff’s garbage truck flipped over, and he was knocked unconscious. Mr. Langford sustained a moderate to severe brain injury, and has been receiving treatment since the date of the injury. During litigation, defendants hired several experts to testify that plaintiff had NO injuries at all, and that he was actually to blame for the crash. Nevertheless, on the eve of trial, defendants agreed to pay $900,000 to settle the claims against them.
Trucking cases can be very complex since numerous safety rules apply to commercial vehicle drivers that do not apply to everyone else on the road. It is important to hire an attorney with experience litigating trucking crash cases so you can obtain the best possible result that you deserve.
