After a two-week wrongful death trial in San Antonio, a Bexar County jury returned a defense verdict finding our client was not negligent in the events leading up to a double fatality collision involving a dump truck hauling asphalt to a construction site.
Floyd Hartley, Brent Anderson, and Trey Laidlaw were hired less than two months before trial to defend a San Antonio-based road construction company. As part of a road construction contract with the City of San Antonio, our client hired a trucking company to haul asphalt from the client's asphalt plant to its road construction site. That trucking company, in turn, hired a subcontractor to assist it in hauling asphalt. In January of 2023, the driver of a dump truck hauling 17 tons of hot mix asphalt allegedly ran a red light and broadsided Plaintiffs' decedent, leading to the death of both drivers.
Plaintiffs, the surviving spouse and daughter, sued the two trucking companies and the road construction company under various theories of liability, including negligent hiring, supervision, and monitoring; negligent entrustment of the dump truck; and negligent selection of a contractor. After hearing all the evidence and deliberating throughout the afternoon on Thursday, February 27th, the jury returned a verdict finding only the trucking company's subcontractor liable and awarded Plaintiffs $5.4m (one-third of Plaintiffs' request in closing arguments), but concluded that the road construction company we represented was not negligent in its actions.
The verdict is another testament to Taylor | Anderson's cross-office teamwork and ability to try cases in plaintiff-friendly venues across the country.