Ryan Skiver · Marjorie Hauf · Joe Fried
On the night of August 5, 2016, Samuel Rowland was driving 24 miles per hour on Interstate 40 outside of Holbrook, Arizona.A Swift Transportation truck going 65 miles per hour hit him from behind.Mr. Rowland’s car was pushed off the side of the highway and rolled over.He had abrasions and contusions at the scene, and complained of headache, neck pain, and some pain in his right wrist.He was diagnosed with a concussion, left scapula fracture and a right scaphoid fracture.It was a very difficult case to try since we took over after disclosure and discovery cutoffs.We tried to reopen discovery and obtain the Swift Transportation driver handbook that should have been disclosed under Rule 26.1.The Judge said there were no direct negligence claims against Swift based on prior counsel’s Complaint and the fact that none were developed with a trucking standard of care expert.The Judge excluded the FMCSRs, CDL Manual and any questions about them, plus the medical records and bills except the few disclosed before the deadline.There was no trucking standard of care expert, prior attorneys did not allege direct negligence claims against Swift, and did not hire a trucking expert or any medical experts.The only experts hired were as rebuttal witnesses.The Judge quashed our subpoena sua sponte to the Swift corporate rep to attend trial because they “had no relevant knowledge” even though Swift was the driver’s first call, they sent a specialist to the scene and towed their truck back to headquarters for investigation.The Judge also refused to allow our client’s treating ortho to give any “opinions.”In 2023, seven years, after the crash, the attorneys for Plaintiff were able to obtain justice for Mr. Rowland.
The case dealt with the following issues:
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