A $9.5 million settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed by Gail-Jean and Doug McGuire, the parents of Daniel McGuire. The lawsuit itself was filed against Saini Trucking and Saini Brothers Trucking after McGuire was killed in a car accident when a “big-rig truck slammed into his car in traffic July 10, 2014, on Highway 17 near Bear Creek Road.”
A $9.5 million settlement has been reached in a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed by Gail-Jean and Doug McGuire, the parents of Daniel McGuire. The lawsuit itself was filed against Saini Trucking and Saini Brothers Trucking after McGuire was killed in a car accident when a “big-rig truck slammed into his car in traffic July 10, 2014, on Highway 17 near Bear Creek Road.”
So what happened? How did the accident occur? Well, when a trucker hauling dirt was driving down a hill, he was unable to stop, “causing a 10-vehicle collision that injured seven people and killed McGuire.” According to California Highway Patrol, in the accident, “McGuire was partially ejected from his vehicle.”
In the lawsuit, the family called for “stricter safety regulations in the trucking industry,” and accused the trucking companies involved of engaging in “negligent hiring, supervision, and training.”
So what does the lawsuit settlement entail? For starters, “in the next 45 days, the insurance companies for the trucking companies that operated the big rig, Saini Trucking and Saini Brothers Trucking, will pay Gail-Jean and Doug McGuire” the sum of the settlement, attorney Robert Allard said while speaking in a recent press release. He added:
“This unprecedented settlement includes a court order that requires Saini Trucking and Saini Brothers Trucking to follow the law going forward or else there will be serious consequences moving forward, including jail time and hefty financial fines.”
When hashing out the details of the settlement, Allard also insisted that the defendants agree to “disclose the financial amount to send a message to trucking companies that do not follow laws on driver regulations and truck inspections.” In making that decision, Allard said, “This settlement needs to serve as a wake-up call to the trucking industry.”
So what do the parents of the victim have to say about the settlement? Well, when asked about it, Doug McGuire said:
“It provides some closure. It’s been three years of litigation and grief. I wake up every morning thinking about it. We don’t have to go through court and relive all the events leading up to our son’s death.”
Daniel’s sister, Rejeana Scarpello, even spoke out about the settlement and said:
“It will be a really nice opportunity to start to move on. I would love to start reminiscing and not be fearful about how a jury is going to interpret my stories. It’s been a long time that we’ve been in trial preparations. It’s been so emotional.”
Sources:
Family settles wrongful death lawsuit
Santa Cruz family of Highway 17 crash victim files wrongful death lawsuit
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