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ARTICLE · 04 JUNE 2025

Truck Trailer Liability: A Cautionary Tale – Nuclear And Thermonuclear Verdicts

Gardiner Roberts LLP
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Canadian trucking companies operating in the United States should take note of the most recent U.S. court decision awarding $462 million...

CanadaTransport
Rui Fernandes
Rui Fernandes
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Canadian trucking companies operating in the United States should take note of the most recent U.S. court decision awarding $462 million to the families of two men for their deaths when they crashed into the back of a trailer.

In Perkins et. al. v. Wabash National Corp.1 a St. Louis jury awarded $6 million each in compensatory damages to the families of decedents Taron Tailor and Nicholas Perkins, who died in 2019 when their Volkswagen sedan slammed into the back of a trailer manufactured by Wabash National and slid underneath the trailer. An additional $450 million was awarded in punitive damages. The claimants' lawsuit accused Wabash of using a rear impact guard they knew to provide inadequate protection against so-called "underride impacts." The company maintained they complied with federal safety standards, and that the crash occurred at a speed impossible for the men in the car to survive. The case is expected to be appealed.

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