A Philadelphia jury concluded that a rear underride guard on a Strick Corp. trailer was not defective and denied the plaintiff鈥檚 request for $8 million in a product liability lawsuit filed against the trailer maker.
An early morning crash on Sept. 23, 1996, happened when a car driven by the plaintiff, Tameka Caleb, struck the rear of the parked trailer. The impact sheared off the top of the car Caleb was driving and trapped her inside her vehicle for about an hour. She suffered permanent brain damage.
The jury found the federally mandated underride guard was not defective and reached a verdict within an hour after the Nov. 20 trial ended, Tom Kuzmick, Strick鈥檚 outside counsel, said.
The Philadelphia court restricted one of Caleb鈥檚 witnesses, automobile safety consultant Byron Bloch, from testifying about the speed of Caleb鈥檚 vehicle or the accident reconstruction. Kuzmick questioned Bloch鈥檚 expert status, saying the consultant had no 鈥渆ngineering, welding, or metallurgical background.鈥
For the full story, see the Dec. 11 print edition of Transport Topics. .
