In January of 2001, Philip Dohrman of Huntington Beach, California, was driving northbound on the 1-5 in Irvine when the cab of his truck was crushed by a flying truck tire weighing 180 pounds. A commercial tractor trailer travelling southbound on I-5 had lost the wheel, which continued to roll down the highway, crossing the barrier and crashing into Dohrman’s truck at a combined closing speed of 120 mph. Dohrman was seriously injured; he suffered brain damage and is now legally blind.
Daniel J. Callahan of Callahan & Blaine represented Dohrman and his wife Julie in settlement negotiations with the trucking company. During the negotiations, the cause of the accident was hotly contested. Evidence showed that the large trucking company did not follow its own company guidelines which require all drivers to perform a pre-trip inspection of their vehicle, including checking the wheel lug nuts prior to each trip.
Callahan pointed out that that the large trucking company “failed to follow its own guidelines, federal regulations and motor carrier vehicle regulations and in effect, through its gross negligence, created a situation where injury if not death was certain to occur. It was not a question of whether an accident would occur, but when.”
The large trucking company in defense claimed that the truck servicing company had over-torqued the lug nuts which caused severe stress on the lug bolts causing them to fracture from within. The company claims that this stress could not have been detected through either a visual or manual inspection.
The trucking company had insurance through Zurich and Lloyds of London as did the truck servicing company. Callahan negotiated a settlement of $28 million for Mr. Dorhman’s claims through the use of Alexander Polski at J.A.M.S. in Orange County. The settlement will be paid over time to Mr. and Mrs. Dohrman.
At Callahan & Blaine, winning is our specialty. All of our attorneys have at least seven years’ experience, and many of them have 15-25 years’ experience; we use that experience to accomplish record breaking jury verdicts and settlements. If you or someone you know has been catastrophically injured or killed in an accident, contact Callahan & Blaine for expert personal injury representation.
