Soda Truck - I didn’t see you there - $300,000 Settlement

We represented a 9-year-old who was riding her bike down the street. She was going to cross the road at a crosswalk when all of a sudden she looked up and a soda truck was right on top of her. The truck ended up hitting her. She was injured, but thankfully nothing was broken; however, she had serious psychological trauma due to the incident. The soda company claimed she should have watched where she was going. We filed a lawsuit on behalf of the minor and proceeded with discovery. We asked for everything from the soda company, including phone records. We finally received them and then after some study realized that the truck driver was probably on the phone when the incident occurred and wasn’t paying attention. The soda company’s lawyers never realized it. We used that piece of information at the deposition of the driver, where we got him to admit what happened and that he wasn’t paying attention. Prior to the deposition, they had offered our client’s $30,000. We settled the case for $300,000. We know where to look in pedestrian-truck cases and how to use the information to maximize the settlement.