Attorneys Settle Lawsuit for Van Passengers in I-75 Van Accident

Spohrer & Dodd Attorneys, Galen Bauer and Keith Maynard, recently settled a lawsuit filed by 13 passengers who were badly injured in a catastrophic accident on I-75 near Gainesville, Florida in 2015. The accident involved a passenger van, an SUV and a commercial tow truck. The complaint alleged that the driver of the commercial tow truck “negligently operated or maintained his motor vehicle so that it collided with the vehicle in which Plaintiffs were passengers.”

Eyewitnesses saw the van roll several times and exit I-75 shortly after it was rear-ended by the commercial tow truck. The driver of the tow truck claimed that the van cut him off in the left lane while trying to make an illegal turn. The plaintiffs were severely injured in the accident and most had to be airlifted to a hospital or transported from the scene in an ambulance. The injured passengers who remained at the scene did not speak English and therefore could not give the police statements about what happened. As such, the tow truck driver’s statement was the official account used by the investigating officer to determine the cause of the accident. The police report stated that the van driver was at fault.

Spohrer & Dodd hired forensic experts to conduct an investigation of the accident scene and the vehicles involved. They were also able to subpoena cell phone records for the other drivers involved and dash cam video from a commercial truck near the accident. Mr. Bauer and Mr. Maynard were able to determine through their investigation that the tow truck was traveling faster than the driver told police and that he was likely using his cell phone at the time of the accident. Faced with this evidence, the defendant agreed to settle the case for an undisclosed, but significant amount of money.

Although the plaintiffs had no money to hire an attorney, had their case rejected by other law firms, and did not speak English, Spohrer & Dodd was willing and able to litigate their case and provide the injured passengers with a significant recovery. As a result, this catastrophic accident on I-75 did not end tragically for the injured passengers.