Vol. 55 No. 5

Trial Magazine

Verdicts & Settlements: Motor Vehicle Liability

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Failure to Maintain Appropriate Speed

May 2019

One rainy and slushy morning, Jerry Troutwine, 46, was traveling ­eastbound on a two-lane local highway in his employer’s vehicle. Justin Nichols was traveling westbound in a dump truck filled with concrete and lost control of his vehicle near a downhill curve. The truck’s brakes locked, and the vehicle crossed the centerline, colliding head-on with Troutwine’s vehicle.

Troutwine suffered fatal injuries. He had been a truck driver and mechanic earning almost $30,000 annually and is survived by his wife and teenage daughter.

Troutwine’s estate sued the dump truck’s owner, Nichols, and his company, alleging that Nichols had been speeding in poor conditions and failed to control his vehicle. 

The defendants argued that the sudden emergency doctrine precluded their liability and that Troutwine was driving under the influence of opioids and marijuana. The plaintiff countered that Troutwine had suffered from chronic back pain for more than 10 years and that he was highly tolerant of opioids.

The jury awarded more than $1.91 million, finding that Troutwine was 20 percent negligent but that his fault was not a proximate cause of his death.

Citation: Troutwine v. Nichols, No. 16-430-CZ (Mich. Cir. Ct. Cass Cnty. Dec. 7, 2018).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Barry Conybeare, Nathaniel Harrington, and Matthew Conklin, all of St. Joseph, Mich.