Driver Was Killed, Passenger Suffered Head Injury

$2 Million Settlement

In September 1996, 19-year-old John Sears made a left-hand turn out of a parking lot onto Rangeline Road in Joplin. The road is a commercial street with two northbound lanes and two southbound lanes. Before he reached the southbound lanes, his pickup truck was struck by a 1989 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck owned by Joplin Cement Company and driven by Frank Brown.

Sears was killed on impact. His passenger, John Tessman, was thrown through the rear window into the bed of the pickup. He suffered debilitating brain injuries.

Tessman sued Brown, Joplin Cement, and the Sears estate. Regina Sears, John's mother, sued Brown and Joplin Cement. The plaintiffs claimed the truck was speeding and swerved into the path of Sears' pickup truck rather than away from it.

Joplin Cement and Brown claimed that Sears was 100 percent at fault for failure to yield the right of way. The investigating officer had reported that Brown did not contribute to the accident and testified that he was not speeding based on skid tests.

The plaintiffs' accident reconstructionist testified that his calculations indicated the truck was traveling approximately 4 mph over the speed limit, and that the collision would not have occurred had Brown been traveling at the speed limit. The defendants expert testified that Brown was traveling under the speed limit. Several eyewitnesses also testified that they did not believe Brown was speeding.

After a day-long mediation, the case settled for $2 million $1.65 million for Tessman and $350,000 for the Sears plaintiffs.

Type of Action: Automobile accident

Type of Injuries: Death, brain injury

Court/Case Number/Date: Jasper County Circuit Court/CV197-1250CC/May 2000

Caption: Sears, et al. v. Joplin Cement Company, et al.

Judge, Jury or ADR: Jury

Name of Judge: William Crawford

Special Damages Claimed: $6 million for Tessman; none for Sears

Verdict or Settlement: $2 million settlement

Allocation of Fault: N/A

Last Offer: N/A

Last Demand: N/A

Attorneys for Plaintiff: Roger Johnson, Joplin, for Sears; Fred Spigarelli and Carlton Kennard, Pittsburg, Kan., for Tessman

Insurance Carrier: American States Insurance

Plaintiff's Experts: Joe Burton, Atlanta (biomechanical engineer); Bruno Schmidt, Springfield (accident reconstruction)

Defendant's Experts: Michael Dilich (accident reconstruction)