Appeals court affirms $2.75M judgment to trucker’s family

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed a previous $2.75 million judgment to the estate of a Missouri trucker who was killed in a 2012 crash.

Hasib Karahodzic died in a collision with another tractor-trailer on March 17, 2012, while traveling on Interstate 70 near Brownstown, Ill.

In September 2012, JBS Carriers of Greeley, Colo., filed a complaint against Karahodzic and EJA Trucking of St. Louis.

According to court documents, the JBS truck driver pulled onto the shoulder of I-70 near the Brownstown exit. After a short stop, the trucker pulled back onto the interstate via the “right hand/through lane.” It was at this point when the two trucks crashed.

JBS claimed its driver was well-established on the interstate when he was struck and that Karahodzic “took little or no evasive action to prevent the collision.”

Karahodzic’s estate filed a counter claim, arguing that JBS driver could have pulled off the interstate more safely at the exit ramp rather than the shoulder.

A jury awarded Karahodzic’s estate $2.75 million in September 2016.