LOCAL
LAWYER DANIEL WEBSTER MUNLEY WINS $850,000 SETTLEMENT IN TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE
Scranton, PA (September _, 2003) --- A 2001 accident on I-81 in Luzerne
County has resulted in a Massachusetts-based trucking company and its driver
agreeing to pay an $850,000 settlement. The recipient of the award, Robert Reed
of Irving, Texas, was driving his motorcycle at the time of the crash. He was
represented by Atty. Daniel Webster Munley of the
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre law firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright.
"Although his life will never be the same, I believe that our efforts have
obtained justice for Mr. Reed and his family," said Atty. Munley. "I
am hopeful that the thought of economic security for him and his family will be
of comfort to him in the years ahead."
The accident occurred on September 7, 2001 south of Hazleton, where an
overturned garbage truck created a mile-and-a-half traffic backup. Mr. Reed was
stuck in the traffic jam when a 53-foot rig, owned by Truckadyne Transportation
Inc., slammed into him and several other vehicles. Although the traffic jam was
clearly visible and other tractor trailer drivers had been sending alerts over
their CB radios, the Truckadyne driver ignored the warnings and crashed into Mr.
Reed=s motorcycle.
Mr. Reed, who was thrust into the air by the impact, suffered numerous fractures
including a pelvis, hip, foot and ribs, as well as internal bleeding. One of his
thumbs was torn off and needed to be surgically reattached. Mr. Reed missed more
than eight months of work, but his job future is in doubt because his condition
may deteriorate over time.
Atty. Munley uncovered company documents indicating that the driver had
repeatedly violated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act in the days leading up
to the accident. These violations included numerous instances of driving more
than the permitted 10 hours in any 24 hour period.
AYou have a recipe for disaster when you allow a truck driver to consistently
drive over his allotted hours,@ declared Atty. Munley. "One has to wonder
whether this driver was too tired to be driving on that particular day since he
ignored numerous warnings.
AOvertired drivers are a consistent problem that all members of the traveling
public face when they venture onto the highways and roadways of our country,
declared Atty. Munley.
ASuch accidents are entirely foreseeable by the trucking industry, but they turn
a blind eye in order to increase profits. It is fortunate that my client was not
killed.
Atty. Munley is a nationally recognized expert in truck-related litigation and a
member of the Executive Board of the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group of the
Association of Trial Lawyers of America. His editorial page feature, "More
Carnage on the Highways," was distributed by the Scripps-Howard News
Service to more than 450 daily newspapers nationwide earlier this summer.
$6.5 million settlement has been made involving a crash more than two years ago
in which a Dickson City woman died and her husband was seriously injured. The
wreck occurred when a tractor-trailer hauling garbage here from New Jersey
struck their pickup truck when exiting the North Scranton Expressway. Attorney
Robert Munley said $5.5 million of the settlement will go to Edward Zawacki 65,
of 219 Oak St., Dickson City, who has been in a comatose state since the
accident An award of $1 million was made in the death of Zawacki’s wife,
Vivian, who died in the crash. The settlement was reached several months ago,
said attorneys for the Zawackis, but was not finalized until Friday. Settlement
talks began after the case was scheduled to go to trial last spring before
Lackawanna County Court Judge Canon O’Malley. The case stems from a highly
publicized accident Jan. 4, 1990, on North Keyser Avenue near the North Scranton
Expressway. A tractor-trailer operated by Denis Perez, 33, of 217 52nd Street,
West New York, N.J., slammed broadside into the Zawacki vehicle as the rig left
the North Scranton Expressway. The Zawackis, who were returning home after
attending St. Ann’s Novena, had just gone through a green traffic signal on
Keyser Avenue when their vehicle was struck by the tractor-trailer. The impact
drove their vehicle into a metal pole supporting the traffic signal. Munley said
state police found none of the brakes on either the tractor or trailer were in
adjustment, indicating they had not been adjusted or repaired for a long period.
Shortly after the accident, Gov. Robert Casey launched a statewide crackdown
known as Operation Trashnet to make safety inspections of vehicles hauling
out-of-state garbage to landfills in Pennsylvania. Perez, who was charged with
vehicular homicide but was acquitted by a Lackawanna County jury, was hauling
garbage from Passaic County, NJ., to the Empire Landfill in Taylor. Perez was
one of four defendants in the civil action Munley flied on behalf of the
Zawackis. The major defendant, however was Pen Pac, a Totowa, N.J., trucking
firm that owned the trailer Perez was operating and contracted with Perez to
haul garbage to Empire. Other defendants included JLB Leasing, another New
Jersey firm that was an intermediary in hiring Perez and Robert Bolus, also
known as Bolus Eastern Leasing Company which supposedly made repairs to Perez’s
vehicle. Munley said Edward Zawacki has been in a coma since the accident. He
has been treated at Community Medical Center and the Hillcrest Home, New
Milford. He currently resides at Abington Manor. Because of his special needs,
Munley said, Zawacki’s care costs in excess of $500 per day.
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