Family members of a Texas couple who were killed in a major traffic accident on I-10 have ended their lawsuit against a trucking company and truck driver. The fatal accident happened on Thanksgiving Day 2012 and involved more than 100 vehicles.
The couple who were represented in the lawsuit were stopped in a long line of traffic that apparently had been caused by fog on the morning of Nov. 22, 2012. A tractor-trailer driver, who, according to the lawsuit, did not reduce his speed, crashed his vehicle into the couple’s car. The two people in the car were killed. The multi-car accident left more than 80 people injured with 11 or 12 of them being harmed critically. It took police most of the day to clear the interstate after the accident.
The lawsuit was filed against the trucking company C.R. England Inc. and the driver of the tractor-trailer. The family was suing for funeral expenses and for their pain and suffering. The case was ready for trial, but on March 3 the plaintiffs filed a Notice of Nonsuit with Prejudice, which was granted by the judge the following day. No information regarding the settlement that was agreed upon was reported.
A nonsuit is the dismissal of a lawsuit. Nonsuit with Prejudice means that the plaintiff cannot file the suit again; without Prejudice allows for the suit to be filed again in the future. In this case, the plaintiffs filed the Notice of Nonsuit, though it sometimes is filed against the plaintiff by the defendant if they believe the plaintiff has not proven their case. Wrongful death lawsuits can be filed when there is reason to suspect that a death was caused by the negligent actions of someone else.
Source: US Legal, Inc., “Nonsuit Law & Legal Definition”
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Settlement reached in I-10 pileup wrongful death case“, Marilyn Tennissen, March 12, 2014
