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.

By Frank Scholz, Scranton Times Staff Writer


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