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Jury Awards $175 Million in Whistleblower Lawsuit

Posted on behalf of Arnold Law Firm in
In a landmark case with a record setting award, jurors in Texas found Trinity Industries, Inc., one of the country’s largest guardrail manufacturers, liable for committing fraud in Texas. In 2012, Josh Harman filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act against Dallas-based Trinity Industries Inc. In the whistleblower lawsuit, Harman argued that the company’s design of widely used highway guardrails such as the ET-Plus model, caused serious and sometimes fatal accidents. At the heart of the case was a claim that the design change implemented by Trinity in 2005 to its guardrails caused the system to fail and the company failed to disclose this dangerous defect to federal and state safety regulators for seven years. The jury awarded $175 million that will ultimately be tripled to $525 million. The United States will get the bulk of the money, but Harman will receive a percentage of the award up to 25%. The case is not entirely over yet. Trinity continues to deny any and all wrongdoing and has vowed to appeal the jury verdict.

Federal Highway Officials Announce Testing Requirements for Guardrails

The Federal Highway Administration, a sub-unit of the U.S. Department of Transportation, gave Trinity an Oct. 31, 2014 deadline to explain how the company will complete the safety tests of its guardrails. In light of the jury award, the company’s newly redesigned guardrails will have to pass stringent testing requirements with extensive oversight. Officials are requesting that they be allowed to watch the company conduct the tests in addition to seeking extensive oversight of the testing process. Federal officials have already announced that the company that originally conducted the tests, Texas A&M Transportation Institute cannot conduct the tests. It is unclear who will be permitted to conduct the tests.

California Qui Tam Lawyers

The Arnold Law Firm’s  experienced qui tam lawyers in Sacramento have decades of experience fighting government fraud by helping whistleblowers assert all of their legal rights under state and federal fraud protection statutes. If you or someone you know is aware of government fraud, talk to our firm to determine your options. Call us at (916) 924-3100.

Settlement - $3,767,000

Truck Accident

A 20-year-old man who had been married for just 12 days left home on his way to work. He was driving on Pleasant Grove Road in Sutter County in the early morning when he came upon a slow-moving truck. As he pulled out to pass the truck, the truck driver turned left in front of him. The young man attempted to steer back into his lane but his vehicle struck an un-flagged piece of metal extending from the back of the truck. He died in the resulting crash.

Expert witnesses brought in by the Arnold Law Firm proved that the truck, owned and operated by a hauling firm, should never have been on the highway that morning. Specifically, the rear and side turn signals did not work and the rear-view mirror was in a poor state of adjustment at the time of the collision. As a result, the driver, who had failed to properly inspect the vehicle before setting out that morning, couldn’t see the young man’s vehicle as it attempted to pass.

The poor condition of the truck, its lack of maintenance and the manner in which it was operated were found to be substantial factors in causing the collision that killed the young man. The testimony also established that the man had been making a lawful pass at the lawful speed limit and acted reasonably when he attempted to avoid the collision.

The man’s 20-year-old widow was awarded $3,767,000.77, his parents were awarded $185,131 and the family was reimbursed $11,899 in funeral expenses. Though money is a poor substitute for a young man’s life, this verdict demonstrates that drivers who endanger the lives of others will be held accountable for their actions.