Tractor-trailer crash leaves trucker blind: $2.42 million settlement

Action: Worker’s compensation

Injuries alleged: Head injury resulting in blindness

Case name: Withheld

Court/case no.: N.C. Industrial Commission

Jury and/or judge: Henry Byrum Jr.

Amount: $2.42 million

High-low agreement: No

Date: June 2, 2023

Attorneys: Richard L. Anderson, Sumwalt Anderson law firm of Charlotte (for the plaintiff)

The plaintiff suffered multiple injuries, including a head injury that resulted in blindness, after the tractor-trailer he was operating was involved in a crash. The plaintiff’s employer did not have worker’s compensation insurance. After the plaintiff’s counsel determined that the load the plaintiff was hauling was brokered through a national freight broker, he filed and pursued a claim against the freight broker and their carrier. The majority of the settlement was paid by the carrier for the broker; the uninsured employer contributed a small amount toward resolution of the case.