Oklahoma Court Dismisses Distracted Driving Truck Case

A semi-truck collision occurred on an interstate when one semi-truck driver struck another while reportedly traveling at excessive speeds. The case involved expert witnesses specializing in accident reconstruction, vocational rehabilitation, life care planning, and forensic economics. Further details regarding the specific legal claims, arguments presented by each side, and the final resolution of the case were not available in the record.

On July 7, 2014, a multi-vehicle rear-end collision occurred in Edmond, Oklahoma, involving a mail carrier. The plaintiff, working in the course of her employment as a mail carrier, was stopped at a mailbox on North Broadway Avenue and Waterloo Road. Another vehicle was stopped behind the plaintiff's mail truck. The defendant's vehicle then struck the rear of the second vehicle, which subsequently struck the rear of the plaintiff's vehicle. The plaintiff maintained the defendant was looking at a map at the time of the incident. Following the accident, the plaintiff reported neck pain but completed her route. The plaintiff subsequently filed a lawsuit, alleging the defendant was negligent by failing to maintain a proper lookout, failing to control the vehicle, and driving while distracted. The plaintiff claimed serious and permanent injuries to her cervical and lumbar spine, which eventually required a 3-level cervical fusion. The defendant denied all allegations of negligence and injury. After a trial, a jury found that the defendant was negligent. The jury awarded the plaintiff $750,000 in damages. The verdict was rendered on October 28, 2021.

A policyholder purchased health insurance effective May 26, 2014. On September 30, 2014, the policyholder was involved in a motor vehicle crash, sustaining serious injuries and incurring over $123,200 in medical bills. In July 2015, the insurer denied coverage for the crash, stating the policyholder was ineligible at the time of the accident. The insurer later informed the policyholder that the policy was canceled due to "pre-existing conditions." The policyholder claimed this refusal forced him to pay $66,812.33 out-of-pocket for medical expenses. The policyholder filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, alleging breach of contract and bad faith dealing, and seeking damages. The defendant insurer asserted defenses including unclean hands, fraudulent inducement, deceit, and rescission of contract. The parties subsequently settled the case. A federal judge entered an order in August 2017, administratively closing the case without prejudice due to the compromise, and the parties later filed a joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice.

A civil case stemming from a motor vehicle accident was recorded in Oklahoma. Few details were available from the record regarding the specifics of the incident, the legal claims asserted by the plaintiff, or the final resolution of the case. The plaintiff engaged multiple experts, including professionals in forensic economics, vocational rehabilitation, accident reconstruction, physical medicine, and clinical psychology, to assist with the proceedings.

Details regarding a motor vehicle accident case, which involved claims of injuries and damages, were limited in the record. The proceedings included expert testimony from a truck accident investigation and reconstruction specialist, an accident reconstructionist, an economist, and a life care planner. Few specifics about the incident, the legal claims filed, the arguments presented by the parties, or the ultimate resolution of the case were available.