Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

In this products liability case, a 32 year old firefighter, was on the job, operating pumper truck controls at a barn fire, was severely injured when she was pinned between the vehicle and a fence. The truck began to move forward, with no one at the wheel, when the water pump was turned on. According to experts, the truck was defectively designed because it could unexpectedly shift power from the pump to the vehicle - thereby causing the truck to move.

The heroic young firefighter had tried to use the "kill" switch to stop the vehicle, before it crushed her. She ended up being paralyzed from the waist down. The truck crushed her pelvis, broke her ribs, and completely removed the skin from portions of her back and thighs. She underwent numerous surgeries and treatments, including skin grafts and debridements (where the dead skin is scrubbed off with a brush by nurses - one of the most painful procedures for any patient to undergo). All of these injuries forever changed her life and profoundly lessened her ability to perform the basic tasks of caring for herself.

At trial, the jury found her injuries totaled $8,750,000, but she could only recover $1,531,000 of that from the manufacturer of the fire truck. She could not recover from the fire department she worked for because state law prohibited her from suing it. Another defendant, the designer of the pump system, reached a confidential settlement with the injured firefighter after two days of trial.