Jury Awards $4 Million For Death Of Young Woman in Trucking Accident

A young life was lost in a collision with a truck at a roadway construction site. 17-year-old Brooke Ladue was pulling out of a neighborhood onto a state road when an oncoming Mack truck with one headlight and a driver exceeding the speed limit crashed into her Honda. The driver had also exceeded the number of hours he was supposed to drive in a specific time period.
The site of the accident was at an intersection that was part of a road widening project. The intersection was cluttered with construction barrels and debris and a 10-foot mound of crushed rock that made it impossible for Brooke to see the oncoming truck. Despite these facts, the official investigation concluded that Brooke was at fault in the accident.
Brooke’s parents, Ted and Carolyn Ladue, brought their case to our firm, asking us to help vindicate Brooke for the accident and to help bring related public safety issues to light. Attorneys Bob Spohrer and Steve Browning investigated the accident and discovered negligence and liability with two defendants – the truck driver’s company and the roadway construction company. The case concluded with a jury award of $4 million.