FRESNO COUNTY--A monthlong trial ended today when a Fresno County jury awarded $7.2m to the family of the Highway 99 big rig accident victim.
On April 2009, John Haen, who was the volunteer driver for the Sierra Pines Church bus, was in the process of refueling the bus after it had run out of gas when two big rigs collided and slid into the nearby bus and Haen.
One of the children onboard was Haen's nephew, Bodie Young, who was awarded $514,000 for pain and suffering related to depression and post traumatic stress disorder that he has suffered from witnessing his uncle's death.
Jurors awarded Haen's wife Sheryll Haen, herself a victim of the 1976 Chowchilla school bus kidnapping, $6.7 million for pain and suffering and loss of love and financial support as a result of the death of her husband.
During the trial, jurors heard testimony about how the particular nature of this accident exacerbated the pain and suffering for Sheryll Haen who had recently overcome, with the help of her late husband, a lifelong fear of buses as a result of the childhood kidnapping.
Although the attorneys for defendants Logos Group Inc. and Triple E Produce considered the Chowchilla kidnapping irrelevant to the current case, Judge Donald Black allowed the testimony.
All the parties did agree that the verdict was a fair settlement.
Truck Accident Personal Injury Liability
In cases that are complicated by factors external to the accident itself, as well as truck accidents that involve multiple defendants, a victim or their family will greatly benefit from working with an experienced truck accident attorney. The attorneys at Estey Bomberger are happy to help provide a free consultation to review your case and discuss factors that will determine what is a fair settlement for you.
Sources: The Fresno Bee, The Associated Press
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