Werner owes $3.6M in Georgia crash lawsuit
A federal court of appeals has found that Werner Enterprises is on the hook for $3.6 million for a crash that left one motorist severely injured.
On Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling on the case. Werner had argued that the plaintiff did not meet the burden of establishing negligence, that the decision went against the weight of the evidence and that the district court improperly informed the jury that Werner had insurance.
The lawsuit stemmed from a crash that occurred on Sept. 20, 2019. According to the complaint, Joseph Krisak was driving a truck for Werner on state Highway 38 near its intersection with Bypass Road in Georgia. Krisak was in the center turn lane when, without proper warning, he moved into the left travel lane and stopped.
At that time, Lexie Handley was attempting to pass a vehicle in the far right lane. When she pulled into the passing lane, Krisak’s truck was parked there, improperly cutting off Handley’s proper lane of travel. According to court documents, the incident resulted in a crash and Handley was badly injured.
A lawsuit was filed in a Georgia federal court in November 2020. In June 2022, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in favor of Handley and found $6,000,000 in damages. The jury apportioned the fault 60% to Werner and 40% to Handley, putting Werner on the hook for $3.6 million. Werner promptly appealed.
Werner argued that Handley produced insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find for her on negligence.
The court of appeals did find conflicting evidence about the crash.
Handley admitted a murky memory of the moments leading up to the crash, according to the court order. The police report assigned fault to Handley but listed the tractor-trailer as being in the left travel lane and lacked witness statements. Also, the jury heard witness testimony from someone claiming that Krisak drove erratically and appeared lost. Krisak’s testimony revealed that he was driving based on a map and verbal directions and was hit as he was changing lanes. Ultimately, the district court sided with Handley, and court of appeals affirmed.
“When all evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to Handley, the jury had sufficient evidence to reasonably reach its verdict,” the Eleventh Circuit ruled. “The district court properly denied Werner’s motion for judgment as a matter of law regarding negligence.” LL
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