Martin v. Evans

711 A.2d 458 (1998)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

D parked his truck and left it running, and went to the restrooms. When he returned, he looked in the back of the truck before he got into the cab and noticed that no one was parked behind him. D recorded the stop in his logbook, which took approximately two minutes, then he prepared to back up. D put the truck into reverse and released both the emergency brake for the cab and the emergency brake for the tractor. When released, the emergency brakes emit a hissing sound that lasts for about two seconds. D activated his four-way flashers and looked through the side-view mirrors, but because of the angle of the truck and the length of the trailer, he could not see directly behind him. He reversed the truck 'slower than you could walk' until he felt a nudge and saw someone waving at him to stop. D stopped the truck, and through his right-hand rear view mirror, he saw someone fall just to the right, rear of his truck. When he got out of his truck to investigate, D saw P lying on the ground. Another driver of a second truck had parked approximately seven to ten feet directly behind D's tractor-trailer. P was either walking or standing between the second truck and D's tractor-trailer when the tractor-trailer began to back into him. He claimed that he tried to get out of the way but was unable to do so. He became pinned between the two vehicles. The second driver put the Isuzu truck into reverse to free P, who fell to the ground. P suffered injuries to his right arm and back. P sued Ds for negligence. The jury found for D, but the trial court granted a new trial as the verdict was against the weight of the evidence. The appellate court affirmed and D appealed.