Jury awards $47 million to veteran left paralyzed in fog crash
A former Louisiana National Guardsman who was left bedridden with severe brain and spinal injuries after a head-on collision with a commercial tanker truck has been awarded $47 million by a New Mexico jury, according to military.com.
Snapshot
The veteran, who served in the Louisiana National Guard starting at age 18 and was later working in an oilfield, was 21 when his vehicle collided with a tanker truck on a foggy night in November 2022. A Rio Arriba County, N.M. jury ruled on Oct. 9 that he should receive the settlement, which has been reported as one of the largest jury awards for a non-fatal commercial truck crash in the state's history, according to military.com.
Key points
- The crash: The tanker truck crashed head-on into his vehicle during foggy conditions in November 2022, military.com reported.
- The injuries: He suffered a collapsed and bleeding lung, spleen and liver lacerations, cervical and t-spine fractures, a spinal cord injury causing paralysis, a broken femur and multiple broken ribs, according to a GoFundMe campaign cited by military.com.
- His condition now: He is unable to communicate, bedridden and dependent on constant care, the outlet reported.
- The lawsuit: His family sued Texas-based Pilot Thomas Logistics and its subsidiary Maxum Petroleum Operation Co. in 2024, since the truck driver worked for Pilot Thomas Logistics; the driver himself was not named as a defendant.
- The reaction: His mother thanked the Rio Arriba County jury for hearing the family's case, while attorney James Tawney said the crash came down to "split seconds," arguing the driver could have avoided it by braking sooner in the fog.
Quick take
This case is a reminder of how a few seconds of hesitation on the road can permanently upend a veteran's life and his family's future, and of the heavy, ongoing cost of caring for a severely injured loved one long after the headlines fade.
Read the full story: military.com