A California woman has won a $70.5 million judgment against a trucking company for a driver’s role in a big rig accident in which she and her teenage son suffered brain injuries. It is the largest judgment ever granted in a personal injury lawsuit in the history of Kern County, Calif., where the woman and her son are from.

The Incident

In her complaint, Tomasa Cuevas said that Amarjit Aulakh, a driver for Rai Transport, Inc., negligently ran a red light, plowing into the side of her vehicle. The accident occurred at the intersection 0f Panama Road and Union Avenue in Bakersfield, Calif., approximately 115 miles north of Los Angeles, in August of 2017.

Tomasa said her son Alex suffered massive skull and facial injuries, resulting in serious brain damage. Treating physicians determined that Alex, a cross-country runner at his high school, would never run again.

The Defendant Company’s Failure

Tomasa’s counsel during the big rig accident lawsuit noted during their arguments that the driver, Aulakh, already had over a dozen motor vehicle accidents on his record and was driving on a suspended license at the time of the incident in question. The company should never have allowed him to drive, they said. In a statement, Cuevas’ lawyer said the accident was “100 percent preventable,” as he expressed his clients’ appreciation for the jury’s consideration.

The Award

Tomasa will receive approximately $6.5 million for future medical expenses and $32.5 million for pain and suffering. Her son will get about $591,000 for economic damages and $25.5 million in noneconomic damages. Eleven-year-old Maritza Cuevas, who was allegedly riding in the backseat and was traumatized by the accident, will receive $5.5 million.

Tragic Statistics

On average, there are half a million accidents in the U.S. annually involving a big rig, representing about 12 percent of all motor vehicle mishaps.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports that well over 4,100 people died during 2018 as the result of a big rig accident. Sixtyseven percent of those who were killed were driving or riding in a passenger vehicle, while 15 percent were pedestrians or riding a bicycle or motorcycle at the time. The death toll represents a 30 percent increase over 2009 when the number of fatalities was at its lowest in over three decades, according to the institute.

Why it Happens

The typical big rig accident involves a tractor-trailer combination that can be up to 90 feet in length, 8.5 feet wide and over 13 feet high, and weigh up to 40 tons. Due largely to the laws of physics, they require as much as 40 percent more room to stop than a typical passenger vehicle – on dry pavement and with well-maintained brakes.

Good maintenance of big rigs is not a foregone conclusion; many a big rig accident has been the result of poor vehicle maintenance, particularly brakes. Another risk factor is driver fatigue; although professional truckers are limited by federal safety regulations to 11 hours a day on the road, the journal Traffic Injury Prevention reports that too many drivers ignore these rules.

Tomasa’s Big Rig Accident Lawsuit is Case No. BCV-18-100615, California Superior Court, Kern County