ILLINOIS JURY SLAMS FREIGHT BROKER WITH A $23.8 MILLION VERDICT
A Will County jury awarded $23.8 million to the families of two people killed and a third person seriously injured when a semi crashed into a line of cars on Interstate Highway 55 near Plainfield in April 2004.
Minnesota freight broker C.H. Robinson Worldwide brokered Utah-based trucking company Toad L Dragonfly Express to haul a load of potatoes. The driver, De An Henry of Utah, was reported to have been driving on a suspended license with falsified log books.
The jury found C.H. Robinson to be vicariously liable for the accident. Vicarious liability is a form of secondary liability. In this case, the jury determined that the carrier, Toad L Dragonfly Express, was not an independent contractor but was rather a subsidiary of the $8.6 billion brokerage company. As such, C.H. Robinson can be held liable not only for the negligence of Toad L Dragonfly Express in hiring and retaining a driver with a suspended license, but can also be held liable for the negligence of the driver himself.
Jeffrey J. Kroll of the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll has successfully represented a number of people who have been injured in automobile accidents, recovering millions of dollars on their behalf. If you have been injured, please contact us.
