Family injured in tractor-trailer wreck settles suit for $3.275M

A husband and wife who were both injured after a tractor-trailer rear-ended the husband’s car as he was aiding his wife on the side of a North Carolina highway have confidentially settled a lawsuit against the at-fault driver and the driver’s employer for $3.275 million, their attorneys report.

Wade Byrd of Fayetteville and Mark V.L. Gray of Greensboro report that the wife was traveling with the couple’s infant son when she pulled over onto a narrow shoulder of the highway after her car broke down in 2014. Her husband arrived and parked behind her, and they moved their son into his car. 

Soon after, an 18-wheel tractor trailer slammed into the husband’s car, which in turn rammed into his wife’s car. The husband suffered minor injuries; the wife suffered back and neck injuries that required two surgeries. The wife has now fully recovered.

Subsequent to the wreck the infant, who is now seven years old, developed moderate autism, and the family contended that the wreck had caused his autism, Byrd said. The defense “strongly challenged” the contention that the boy’s injuries from the wreck had caused his autism and argued that the condition was likely congenital.

(Autism spectrum disorder has no single known cause, and the current state of medical science does not permit doctors to determine what caused a particular child’s autism. Researchers continue to investigate whether various postnatal environmental factors, including traumatic brain injuries, can contribute to the development of autism spectrum disorder.)

On June 11, the driver and the “multi-state large trucking company” he worked for settled the claims of the husband for $50,000, the wife for $425,000, and their son for $2.8 million.

“He’s got difficulties, and you just don’t know when things are going to go wrong, when things are going to go haywire,” Byrd said. “When he was testing at school, he would get under his desk and bang his head. And when things like that will occur, no one has any idea.”

Due to a confidentiality agreement, other details about the case, including the location of the crash and the identities of the defendants and their counsel, were withheld. 

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter @bcresenzonclw

SETTLEMENT REPORT — MOTOR VEHICLE WRECK

Amount: $3.275 million 

Injuries alleged: Neck, back, and brain injuries

Case name: Confidential

Court: Confidential
Date of settlement: June 11

Attorneys for plaintiff: Wade Byrd of Fayetteville and Mark V.L. Gray of Greensboro 

Attorney for defendant: Withheld