Hall & Evans’ attorneys James C. Worthen and Kenneth H. Lyman just received a defense verdict in a co-employee liability case in Wyoming. The Plaintiff claimed he suffered serious personal injuries when two Komatsu 830E haul trucks were involved in a side-swipe type accident while operating in an open pit coal mine in northern Wyoming. Plaintiff alleged that the driver of the second haul truck operated her vehicle in a willful and wanton manner by violating multiple safety rules in causing the accident. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff claimed to have suffered serious injuries to his lower back and abdomen, both of which required surgery, as well as developing PTSD. Plaintiff’s life care planner told the jury that Plaintiff’s past and future lost wages and medical expenses were more than $3.4 million dollars. Plaintiff counsel’s requested the jury return a verdict in excess of $11 million dollars. The trial took over two weeks in the United States Federal District Court for the District of Wyoming. The jury returned a complete defense verdict in less than three hours.
