October 5, 2015 — A federal judge has ruled that a guardrail injury lawsuit against Trinity Industries can proceed, Law 360 reports.
The lawsuit was filed by Jose and Victoria Evans, who in 2011 veered off the road and hit the end of a Trinity ET-Plus guardrail. The “impact head” of the guardrail is supposed to absorb the impact of an oncoming car and deflect the guardrail harmlessly away.
Instead, it jammed up and the guardrail pierced through the driver-side door of the Evans’ car. Both occupants were seriously injured, but survived. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in March 2015.
Trinity asked judges to dismiss the lawsuit because it was time-barred under Texas’ two-year statute of limitations.
However, in an order (PDF) dated September 29, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Smith rejected Trinity’s arguments, agreeing that plaintiffs would not have known that the guardrail was possibly defective until after the statute of limitations expired.
Judge Smith also agreed that Mr. and Mrs. Evans adequately alleged that Trinity fraudulently concealed design changes that may have made the guardrail defective.
Plaintiffs’ counsel Collen A. Clark of The Clark Firm, LLP told Law 360:
“The fraudulent concealment is a significant issue for Trinity. The court’s ruling reflects the correct state of the law in Virginia and Texas as well. Trinity will have to answer for their conduct in Texas and many other states. Although Trinity continues to seek to bend the truth rather than face it, we now have them in several jurisdictions where juries will decide their fate.”
Do I have a Guardrail Injury Lawsuit?
The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting guardrail induced injury cases in all 50 states. If you or somebody you know has been injured by a defective Trinity ET-Plus guardrail, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.
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