Trial lawyers Skip Lynch, Kyle Farrar and Wes Ball secured a $31 million jury verdict on behalf of Julianna Charles, the surviving fiancée of 25-year-old Josué Calá, who was tragically killed in a devastating crash caused by a catastrophic equipment failure on Interstate 95 in Florida.
Following a two-week trial, a Miami-Dade County jury found multiple defendants, including XPO Logistics, Marazul Enterprise and Lowe’s Home Centers, negligent for failing to properly inspect, maintain and repair the vehicle involved.
The couple was driving northbound near Fort Lauderdale when a tire and wheel assembly detached from a southbound commercial delivery truck, bounced over the highway median and struck their SUV. Mr. Calá was nearly decapitated and killed instantly, while Ms. Charles survived with serious injuries and lasting emotional trauma.
“This tragedy should raise serious concerns about the lack of proper practices in the trucking industry,” said Mr. Ball. “This should be a wakeup call for the transportation companies, insurers and legislators that are colluding to weaken safety and liability standards and endanger every other driver on the road.”
Jurors deliberated for five hours before returning the verdict following the two-week trial, placing 30% of the blame on truck driver Francisco Romero. The jury split the remaining fault equally between delivery giant XPO Logistics and Marcelo Munoz, owner of Marazul Enterprise. The jury also found that Romero was acting as an agent of XPO, making the company responsible not only for its own direct negligence, but also for Romero’s share of fault.
The case is Charles v. Marazul Enterprise Inc., et al., No. 2020-011693-CA-01 in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
