re: $730 million verdict awarded to survivors of submarine propeller crash [NSFWish]

When moving any oversized load, whether that be dimensionally or weight related, when applying for permits you provide all of that information to the state permit office who then assign you a very detailed route based on roads, bridge heights, weight restrictions, etc etc. I'm not familiar with that area but if they were off their assigned route that's a huge problem. Additionally if going around a curve the front escort should have rounded the curve and stopped oncoming traffic and then given the all clear.


ETA:

“The defendants in this case failed to maintain an effective lookout, failed to communicate with each other, and failed to ask for assistance from local and state law enforcement. This part of Texas is full of narrow bridges, and yet they had no plan for navigating them. I hope today’s verdict will stop anything like this from happening again.”

This makes me wonder if they were indeed off-route and didn't have proper police escorts.

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Well that trucking company is done.

Not so sure about that, Landstar is a huge trucking company. I'm sure it will be appealed, fought in court for years to come and at some point settled for a fraction of the $730 million.

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The settlement isn’t what’s going to get them. The insurance company will end up paying that, whatever the final number ends up being. After that is done, the insurance company will either drop them all together or hike their premium up to the moon. Most likely they’ll drop them. And when they try to go to another insurance co, those premiums will be sky high as well. I’ve seen this exact scenario play out before. Only difference was instead of a submarine prop the cargo was a D10N dozer.

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When does Texas land on the judicial hellhole list?

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Titus County? Ha! Never.

The Southeast Counties like Nueces, Hidalgo, Starr and Jefferson? They were on the first list in 2002.

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Thought compensatory damages are generally based off of the value of the losses (property damages, expenses, lost wages...) what am I missing?

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Those are special damages, which are compensatory. Pain and suffering damages, in this case for the wrongful death claim, are also considered compensatory damages.

Refit and machined somewhere in TX. These aren’t standard propellers that any old manufacturing company can handle, hence why it is covered up in the photo (shape, pitch, blade counts etc. are classified). It was being transported to be shipped to one of the nuclear shipyards where a 688 is in dry dock.

Although I’m sure there was a more direct route.

TXDOT always errors on the side of caution in my experience when it comes to routes for permitted loads, I would almost guarantee they were not on their required route unless they were very near their destination and had no other road to get there. There was without doubt several mistakes that led up to the crash.

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This makes me wonder if they were indeed off-route and didn't have proper police escorts.

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They could have been, I would have routed them differently to I-30 being familiar with the area. But, highway 271 is a major highway in East Texas.

That stretch of highway has always been very dangerous. My best friend growing up lost his dad in a wreck on this same bridge. Since this happened they are actually finally widening it along with parts of the highway.

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You in Gilmer baw

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No, Paris. I grew up in that area and went to Rivercrest High School.

Everything is BIG in Texas, including jury awards.

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failed to ask for assistance from local and state law enforcement.

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This is bullshite. TXDOT has requirements for this and if the proper escorting wasn’t provided they wouldn’t have issued the super permit.