$925,000 Verdict for Trucker Injured When Improperly Loaded Items Fell from Trailer

A truck driver’s workplace injury claim over an improperly loaded semi-trailer that allowed heavy items to fall and injure him resulted in a $925,000 verdict – one of the highest jury awards ever in a Lauderdale County personal injury case – that was upheld on appeal.  Morris, King & Hodge, P.C., attorneys Joe A. King, Jr. and Joseph D. Aiello represented the injured trucker.

Howard Luttrell, a 51-year-old truck driver at the time, was struck by heavy totes that fell from an improperly loaded trailer he was unloading at a Dollar General store in Florence. Evidence at trial indicated that unsecured totes, each weighing over 60 pounds and containing haircare products, fell from the trailer as Luttrell was opening the trailer’s left-hand door. The totes and their contents struck Luttrell in the head, neck, and shoulders, injuring him.

Evidence and testimony presented at trial in the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County showed that Dollar General employees placed the heavy totes on top of rolling cargo containers in violation of company policy. Employees loaded the trailer at a Dollar General distribution center in Kentucky, where Luttrell picked up the load.

Before leaving the distribution center, a Dollar General guard opened the right-hand trailer door for a brief inspection. The guard did not also open the left-hand door, as required by company policy. Luttrell said he did not see anything unusual about the shipment. However, the closed left-hand door blocked his view of the heavy, unsecured tote on top of the rolling container behind it.

Dollar General sealed the load, and Luttrell did not have access to the cargo during his drive from Kentucky to the store in Florence. Upon arrival, the store manager cut the seal. Luttrell opened the right-hand door and saw that the cargo was still secured on that side as it was when he left the Kentucky facility. Only some light objects, like toilet paper, were unsecured on top of the right-hand container, as permitted by company policy.

Luttrell then moved to open the left-hand door. As he did, the heavy, unsecured totes fell and hit the door, forcing it open. The door handle was ripped out of Luttrell’s grasp, and he tried to run. Before he could move out of the way, the totes fell out of the trailer and struck him on the head, neck, and shoulders, causing injuries.

Luttrell, who worked for a trucking company called Werner, filed a third-party personal injury lawsuit against Dollar General. After a jury trial in the Circuit Court of Lauderdale County, he was awarded $925,000 for his losses. The case was Howard Wade Luttrell v. Dolgencorp, LLC, Case No. CV-13-900063.

Dollar General appealed the verdict to the Alabama Supreme Court, which upheld the $925,000 verdict for Luttrell.