Phone: (516) 487-8207
Jury awards $3 million to man who had leg torn off by tractor-trailer by Cheryl Caswell Daily Mail staff A Kanawha jury has awarded a Hernshaw man $3 million after he was run over by a tractor-trailer at the Marmet Go-Mart in June 2005. Joe Meadows, 46, who admitted that he drank a number of beers before the accident, lost his leg in the incident involving a truck making a late-night delivery. Meadows had asked for $2,336, 449 in compensation for his injuries. Meadows sued Gassaway-based Go-Mart, the North Carolina-based Davenport trucking company and the truck driver, Doug Rader of Canvas. The jury decided that each was partly negligent and will pay an equal share of damages to him as a result. Attorney Joanna Tabit, who defended Davenport and Rader, tried to convince jurors that Meadows was responsible for his own fate since he had been drinking. A Go-Mart employee, Tristan Hicks, testified that Meadows was stumbling and slurring his speech when he encountered him just before the accident. Meadows said the truck knocked him down as it pulled out and the rear tires ran over his leg, tearing it off. Tabit told the jury that due to Meadows' inebriated state, it was more likely that he was already lying underneath the vehicle when it began to move. "What happened to Mr. Meadows was a tragic accident," she said. "But it wasn't due to Mr. Rader's negligence. He would have never expected a person to be lying under his truck." Meadows' blood alcohol content measured at Charleston Area Medical Center after the accident was .296, well above the legal limit to drive a vehicle. Tabit said Rader acted in a reasonable way when he finished his delivery, got back in his rig and checked his mirrors before pulling out of the Go-Mart parking lot at about 1:40 a.m. on June 13, 2005. "If everything was clear, how did Joe get run over?" asked Bill Forbes. "Who's responsible for this? Joe did not run over the truck. The truck ran over Joe." Dr. Mark Reaser, a toxicologist from West Virginia University testified by video that Meadows' blood alcohol level indicated that he had to have had more than 12-13 beers prior to the accident. Meadows defense attorneys, who included former Kanawha prosecutor Bill Forbes, told jurors that the trucking company and Go-Mart requested their trucks park near the front entrance of the store to make deliveries and that it was unsafe. Jesse Forbes told them, "The driver forgot to walk around his truck before he pulled out." According to Rader and police reports, after he pulled onto MacCorkle Avenue he noticed a body lying in the Go-Mart lot and turned back in. A trained emergency medical technician, Rader administered aid to Meadows. He was taken to Charleston Area Medical Center for treatment. Meadows, who is in a wheelchair, testified that because of his injury, he has difficulty with many daily tasks. He said he falls in the shower a lot, and isn't able to play with his children the way he did before. While the defense attempted to characterize Meadows as an irresponsible man who had a drinking problem and worked sporadically over the years, Bill Forbes told the jury his client was a hardworking man who didn't deserve to be run over at a convenience store. Bill Forbes said, "Every time he's been knocked down, he's gotten up."
Read More About Jury awards $3 million to man who had leg torn off by tractor-trailer...