For over 50 years, NHTSA has failed to require truck trailers to be equipped with underride guards that protect road users from death and injury. The industry has lobbied to keep it that way and tens of thousands of innocent people have lost their lives as a result. This week, a St. Louis jury made a trailer manufacturer pay a just price.
Why would the jury do so? Could it have been because Wabash continued to sell an inadequate rear impact guard as standard equipment — even though they have a safer option available — and because of the industry’s opposition and the government’s abandonment of public safety?
Justice has been served.
MEDIA COVERAGE
- Truck-involved crashes are resulting in nuclear verdicts against equipment manufacturers, Commercial Carrier Journal (podcast/webisode)
- Marianne Karth on the $462 Million Jury Verdict Against Wabash, Corporate Crime Reporter
- Truck’s Rear Impact Guard Blamed For Fatal Crash As Trial Begins – Watch Gavel-to-Gavel via CVN, Courtroom View Network
- Wabash Underride Verdict Raises Questions About Regulations, Heavy Duty Trucking
- Jury returns half-billion-dollar verdict in underride case, Trailer Body Builders
- Jury Renders $462 Million Verdict To Families Of Victims Of Fatal Truck Underride Crash, Simon Law Firm
- John Simon Closing Secures $462M Verdict at Trial Over Fatal Big Rig Underride Crash (video clip of closing argument), Courtroom View Network
- Jury awards $462 million to families of 2019 underride accident with a tractor trailer, holding manufacturer responsible for the deaths, WUSA9 (YouTube)
- ‘These deaths were preventable’: St. Louis jury returns $462-million verdict for families of men killed in underride crash, KSDK, 5 On Your Side (on YouTube)
- $462M Jury Verdict Over Rear Impact Guard Design, FreightWaves
- BREAKING: $462M Verdict Returned In Trial Over Truck’s Rear Impact Guard Design – Watch Full Trial via CVN, Courtroom View Network
- Wabash Faces $462 Million Verdict in Truck-Trailer Crash, Wall Street Journal
- Jury Says Wabash Owes $462 Million in Fatal Crash Case, Transport Topics
- Jury awards $462M in damages in Wabash lawsuit, Trucking Dive
- Wabash hit with nuclear verdict in 2019 underride deaths, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)\
