A jury in Duluth has awarded a 29-year-old mother of three $2.96 million for injuries she suffered when the janitorial cleaning van she was driving struck a slow-moving street sweeper operated by a crew from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The state tendered a $300,000 settlement, the statutory maximum. But the woman, Bobbie Wakefield, filed an underinsured motorist complaint against the insurer of the van owned by Glory Shine Janitorial Cleaning.
The Duluth News Tribune reported that the six-person jury deliberated 5.5 hours before returning its decisions about 11 p.m. Wednesday. The newspaper said the award was one of the biggest ever by a jury in Duluth. The trial lasted six days.
Ms. Wakefield suffered mild traumatic brain injury and other injuries when the van collided with the 15,000-pound street sweeper in 2002. The street sweeper was traveling about 22 miles per hour in a traffic lane on Interstate 35 near Thompson Hill. There was no early-warning vehicle trailing the sweeper, which was operating at one of the busiest times of the day – 4:30 p.m.
The driver of the street sweeper was ticketed for driving below the freeway minimum of 40 mph.
The car and truck accident lawyers at PritzkerOlsen Attorneys represent injured people in claims pertaining to similar instances of transportation negligence. Our lawyers have decades of experience and a national reputation for excellence in the areas of personal injuries and wrongful death. Contact us today at 612-338-0202 or 1-888-377-8900 (toll free).
