A Washington State jury has found a log truck owner-operator and Paccar responsible for a 1997 crash that left a woman paralyzed.
Arthur Berry was driving his truck, which had a 1987 Peterbilt 357 glider kit, on Washington 16 when he hit a Volkswagen Jetta that was in his right-side blind spot. The Jetta crossed the median and crashed into a Ford Explorer carrying Wanda Chenier and her husband and two children. Wanda Chenier was paralyzed from the neck down, and her husband and daughter suffered minor injuries.
The jury decided on an $11 million damage finding. They found that Berry was 85 percent responsible for the crash. The jury found Paccar was 15 percent responsible because a right-side view window was not a standard feature in Peterbilt's 357 glider kit until 1989. Such view windows were not standard in most trucks at the time, although they generally are today. It was an option on the glider kit, which Berry chose not to order. In addition, he chose to remove a mirror above the right-side door, according to a Paccar spokesman.
Paccar settled with the Cheniers for an undisclosed amount before the trial, so the jury's decision has no effect on the company.
Arthur Berry was driving his truck, which had a 1987 Peterbilt 357 glider kit, on Washington 16 when he hit a Volkswagen Jetta that was in his right-side blind spot. The Jetta crossed the median and crashed into a Ford Explorer carrying Wanda Chenier and her husband and two children. Wanda Chenier was paralyzed from the neck down, and her husband and daughter suffered minor injuries.
The jury decided on an $11 million damage finding. They found that Berry was 85 percent responsible for the crash. The jury found Paccar was 15 percent responsible because a right-side view window was not a standard feature in Peterbilt's 357 glider kit until 1989. Such view windows were not standard in most trucks at the time, although they generally are today. It was an option on the glider kit, which Berry chose not to order. In addition, he chose to remove a mirror above the right-side door, according to a Paccar spokesman.
Paccar settled with the Cheniers for an undisclosed amount before the trial, so the jury's decision has no effect on the company.
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