A personal injury lawsuit that was initiated in June 2011, recently settled for what is being called the largest personal injury settlement on record. The root of the civil lawsuit was a truck accident that occurred in July 2010 on a Pennsylvania highway.

The serious accident occurred one evening on Interstate 80. The plaintiff in the case was reportedly driving her Toyota Matrix down the road, headed east, when she had to stop for traffic. While she was stopped, her vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer. The force of the impact killed her father and two pet dogs. The plaintiff and her husband sustained injuries that were described as catastrophic.

The woman who was driving fractured three of her ribs and some of her vertebrae. In addition, her liver along with other parts of her body were lacerated. Her husband's injuries were much worse. Among other things, he sustained permanent brain damage.

The lawsuit, brought against several defendants including the truck driver and the cheese company that owned the truck involved in the incident, alleged that the tractor-trailer was driving too fast for the conditions which in turn lead to the driver losing control of the rig. In addition to seeking damages for the injuries the woman and her husband sustained, wrongful death and loss of consortium claims on the part of the wife of the man who died, were also included in the petition.

The settlement was reached during mediation. In total, the petitioners will receive $26.1 million. While it is likely that the plaintiffs in this case would readily trade the money in exchange for the accident not happening, because this is not a possibility, hopefully it will make it easier for them all to move forward with their lives.

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, "$26.1 million personal injury settlement, possibly largest ever in Pa., reached in tractor-trailer death suit," Jon Campisi , June 13, 2012