Texas Trucking Crash $89.6 Million Verdict

Trucking company, Werner Enterprises, was found negligent because its’ student truck driver, Shiraz Ali, crashed into the Blake family of Houston, Texas. The collision caused the death of 7 year old Zack Blake and traumatic brain injury (TBI) to 12 year old Brianna Blake, causing her to be quadriplegic requiring round the clock nursing care for the rest of her life.  Jennifer Blake and another son, Nathan, also suffered traumatic brain injuries.

Court records allege that Werner Trucking disregarded basic safety policies and irresponsible in training new student drivers. Werner’s  billion dollar trucking corporation hires close to 4,000 new truck drivers with no experience driving trucks. The student truck driver collided on I-20 in Texas during freezing rain and black ice conditions. Commercial truck drivers are required to slow to a crawl and get off the road during icy conditions. However, Shiraz Ali, the Werner student truck driver stayed on the road averaging 60 mph.

Werner did not provide its’ student driver access to basic safety equipment, directed him to take the icy roads rather than a safer alternative route, allowed him to drive unsupervised through the icy conditions to take the Just-In-Time (JIT) load to California by the next day. The jury found for the injured plaintiffs and against Werner Enterprises in the amount of $89.6 million.