2010Walker v. Buck and Re-Steel Supply Company, Inc., U.S. District Court – Eastern District Norfolk (2010)
Plaintiff was injured when he was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. William Buck, the driver of the truck and an employee of Re-Steel Supply, had fallen asleep at the wheel. Toxicology tests showed that Buck had a 0.57 mg/L concentration of Oxycodone in his blood at the time of the crash. Police were also able to download data from the tractor’s ECM or “black box” which showed that the truck was traveling 64.5 mph (50 mph zone) at the time of impact. Plaintiff struck his head on the headrest and suffered a permanent closed head injury. His ongoing symptoms included post-traumatic headaches, short term memory problems, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), blurry vision when reading, and attention-deficit disorder. The case was settled out of court for $900,000.