Darrell Barger & Staci Vetterling Secure Verdict in $200 Million Jury Trial

This lawsuit stems from a catastrophic, multiple-fatality automobile accident which occurred in October 2014 near the southern terminus of Highway 277 in South Texas.

The roadway was under construction, and traffic was stopped. A truck driver, another co-defendant in the case, crashed his tractor trailer into the stationary traffic at a high rate of speed, resulting in a multiple-vehicle pileup and three fatalities.

Plaintiffs alleged that our client, hired by the Texas Department of Transportation to widen Highway 277, negligently executed the traffic control plan. In addition, Plaintiffs claimed gross negligence, arguing that the alleged deviations in the traffic control plan were the result of an attempt to make up time on the delayed project. After an 11-day trial, the jury found that our client was in compliance with TxDOT’s Traffic Control Plan, assigning 0% liability to our client and total liability on the truck driver co-defendant.

Darrell Barger is a partner in the firm’s Corpus Christi and Houston offices and Staci Vetterling is Of Counsel in the Houston office.