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Posted in Truck Accident Litigation Blog

AZ trucking company pays big for the death of husband, father of eight

December 17th, 2007 by Dawn Mefford

In April of 2004, Thomas Steven, of Wichita, KS was 57.  He owned his own business, which allowed him to support his wife and eight children who ranged in age from 13 to 26.  His life was cut short when the driver of a truck, owned by Phoenix, AZ-based Swift Transportation, ran a stop sign and collided with the Chevy Suburban Steven was driving. 

Immediately prior to the accident, the company’s driver was driving 65 miles per hour around a curve on Kansas Highway 61.  Quickly following the curve was an intersection with US Highway 50.  Highway 61 featured three sets of rumble strips that were meant to warn motorists of the approaching stop-sign controlled intersection. 

But the plaintiffs claimed in court papers that the driver did nothing more than lightly hit the brakes.  They claimed he never thought about stopping.  The driver was never able to offer any explanation for why he didn’t obey the stop sign. 

A jury in Maricopa County, Arizona held the trucking company liable, and awarded $36.5 million in damages, including $13.5 million in punitive damages.  The jury may have been influenced by Swift’s refusal to turn over driver logs, which it was required to keep by federal regulation.  Attorneys for Steven’s survivors claimed that the failure to provide the logs made it impossible for the family to know if the Swift driver had been on the road for too long, and if he had become fatigued. 

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