Trial Magazine

Early one morning, Travis Sweigart, 32, was traveling to work on his motorcycle. Blue & Green Trucking & Hair, LLC principal Kevin Patten, a truck driver working for waste hauler Voyager Trucking Corp., was stopped at the bottom of a highway exit ramp and noticed the headlight from Sweigart’s approaching motorcycle. Patten began to turn onto the highway, causing Sweigart to slide toward the rear of the trailer as he tried to avoid a collision. Sweigart struck the trailer’s rear tire, causing the motorcycle seat to fold into his pelvis and crush it. The truck tires also ran over Sweigart’s feet and ankles.

Sweigart suffered a severe infection to his left leg and multiple fractures to his legs, lower ribs, and vertebra. Among other procedures, he underwent a below-the-knee amputation of his right leg and permanent placement of a colostomy bag. His medical expenses totaled over $1 million.

Sweigart sued Patten and Blue & Green Trucking & Hair, alleging failure to avoid the collision, negligent hiring, and distracted driving based on Patten’s use of a cell phone at the time of the incident. The plaintiff also sued Voyager Trucking Corp. under a vicarious liability theory.

The plaintiff did not claim lost income.

The jury awarded $25 million.

Citation: Sweigart v. Voyager Trucking Corp., No. 21-922 (E.D. Pa. Nov. 4, 2022).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ member Charles Hehmeyer, Lewiston, Maine; and Dan Bencivenga, AAJ member Martina McLaughlin, and Mark LeWinter, all of Philadelphia.

Plaintiff experts: Stan Andrews, accident reconstruction, Farmington, Ark.; Randy Nelson, motorcycle operation, Escondido, Calif.; Paul Dillard, truck operation, Birmingham, Ala.; Calum McRae, biomedical engineering, Penns Park, Pa.; Guy Fried, physical medicine, Philadelphia; and JoEllen Gill, human factors, Mica, Wash.

Defense experts: Todd Hoover, accident reconstruction and motorcycle operation, Novi, Mich.; Kirk Cummings, truck operation, Farmington, Mich.; L. Matthew Schwartz, physical medicine, Wyndmoor, Pa.; and Jeffrey Muttart, human factors, East Hampton, Conn.