TIDA's Victories & Setbacks Series

One of the biggest benefits of TIDA is learning from the experiences of other TIDA members. That is true when things go well... and when they don’t. In an effort to coordinate the defense, TIDA hosts webinars for defense attorneys and trucking claim professionals entitled “Victories & Setbacks” to share information about recent trial results – so that we can all be more effective in defending the trucking industry. Each installment will feature an in-depth discussion about a recent verdict in a trucking case, from a brief recitation of the facts, through discovery challenges, motions practice, voir dire, trial, and verdict. The goal is to give you practical take-aways that you can implement in your own work.

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Defense Verdict after Fatal Collision with Driver who Exited Vehicle on Interstate
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 | 1:00 pm Eastern

Attorneys Bill Smoak and Chance Arias recently obtained a defense verdict for a national trucking company in a wrongful death lawsuit in Florida. The case involved a truck driver who was operating a tractor-trailer late at night on an unlit interstate.

Decedent drove off the interstate onto the right-hand grass shoulder of the road - and then came back onto the interstate, crossing all lanes of travel. Decedent struck the guard rail on the left-hand side of the interstate and ricocheted back onto the highway, coming to a stop facing oncoming traffic. Decedent’s vehicle had no headlights, parking lights, or flashers on. Decedent got out of the vehicle but remained on the roadway, where he was struck by the tractor-trailer.

At trial, Decedent’s counsel made a $9,000,000 demand. After deliberation, the jury returned a defense verdict.

Come hear Bill Smoak talk about his personal take-aways from this terrific win. You will leave this session with some practice pointers that you can use in your litigated cases.

About the presenter:

Bill Smoak is a shareholder with Alvarez, Thompson & Smoak, P.A. He is a very experienced trial attorney whose practice is focused primarily in the areas of commercial transportation law, negligent security/premises litigation, food safety, product liability law, and professional malpractice matters. Mr. Smoak also provides legal advice for business owners and litigates disputes between businesses.

Bill regularly manages catastrophic losses from the time of occurrence and investigation up through and including verdicts and post-trial appeals.

Bill has tried many cases involving wrongful death, quadriplegia, brain injury and other serious injuries resulting from catastrophic transportation accidents, negligent security, premises liability, Sarbanes-Oxley Act/Florida Whistle Blower, age, and racial discrimination matters to verdict in Florida, Indiana, and Alabama.

NOTE: TIDA webinars are open to active TIDA members only. Log in is required to access the member page.

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Recent Presentations

VICTORY: Defense Verdict after truck pulled down overhead wire causing catastrophic injuries to  man who volunteered to direct traffic

Presented February 25, 2025

Attorneys Mark Barrow, Richard McLawhorn, and Adam Crain recently obtained a defense verdict for a large national trucking company after an overhead wire was pulled down by truck driver making a tight turn. A man who volunteered to help the responding fire department direct traffic to alternate routes was struck by an oncoming pickup truck and suffered catastrophic injuries.

Plaintiff provided evidence of over $3,000,000 in past medical damages and presented the jury with evidence of 15,000,000 in future medical and home care needs. At trial, the Plaintiff asked the jury for over $50,000,000 in compensatory damages, in addition to punitive damages. The jury found that neither the truck driver nor the trucking company caused Plaintiffs injuries and returned a complete defense verdict.

Mark Barrow talked about his personal take-aways from this terrific win and supplied some practice pointers that you can use in your litigated cases. (Recording/slides are not available for Victories & Setbacks, however you can connect with the speakers using the TIDA Member Directory.