$84.25 Million Verdict Against U-Haul After Truck Crushes Renter
After trial: In 2012 the Texas Supreme Court struck the gross negligence award and sent the remaining claims back for a new trial.
Won by Loncar Lyon Jenkins.
A Dallas jury awarded $84.25 million in 2008 after a 26-foot U-Haul truck with a failed parking brake rolled over Talmadge Waldrip, leaving him bedridden and requiring round-the-clock care.
What happened
On September 20, 2006, Talmadge Waldrip was moving belongings with a 1988 U-Haul jumbo hauler that had logged more than 234,000 miles. As he exited the truck on a sloped surface, the vehicle rolled backward, knocked him to the ground, and dragged him a short distance. The truck's weight crushed his mid-section, destroying his spine, bladder, bowels, and pelvis.
Waldrip survived, but the injuries were catastrophic. He spent eight months in the hospital. Afterward he was bedridden roughly twenty hours a day, could not walk, had no bladder or bowel control, and required a feeding tube and catheter along with an attendant every half hour. Medical expenses exceeded four million dollars and ongoing care continued indefinitely.
Experts agreed the parking brake was inoperable due to leaking transmission fluid, though they disputed the precise cause. Evidence at trial showed previous renters had reported the truck's instability and that inspections had been performed by a manager with no mechanical training. The firm argued that U-Haul's corporate structure allowed dangerous trucks to stay in service through inadequate maintenance oversight.
After three weeks of testimony, the Dallas County jury found U-Haul International, U-Haul Co. of Texas, and the contract dealer all negligent. It also found U-Haul International and U-Haul Co. of Texas grossly negligent. The total award came to $84.25 million, ranking it among the largest verdicts in the country that year.
Texas tort reform caps on punitive damages reduced the trial court judgment to approximately $45.7 million. On appeal, the Dallas Fifth Court of Appeals reversed the gross negligence finding against U-Haul International, eliminating roughly $11.1 million in punitive damages, while affirming all compensatory awards and the gross negligence finding against U-Haul Co. of Texas. The case reached the Texas Supreme Court in 2012 on questions about evidentiary standards for gross negligence. Ted Lyon of what is now Loncar Lyon Jenkins represented Waldrip throughout.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.Law360: 'Texas Jury Issues $84M Verdict Against U-Haul' (April 21, 2008)
- 2.Texas Lawbook: 'U-Haul Case Could Redefine Gross Negligence'·Archived copy
- 3.Star Local Media (Allen American): 'Waldrip family case reaches appellate court Feb. 9'·Archived copy
- 4.Texas Court of Appeals opinion: U-Haul International Inc. v. Waldrip (5th Dist. 2010)·Archived copy
More proven verdicts from Loncar Lyon Jenkins
All Loncar Lyon Jenkins proven verdicts →A Kaufman County jury awarded $296 million in compensatory damages against Koch Industries after a corroded, unmaintained butane pipeline exploded and killed two teenagers on August 24, 1996.
A Dallas County jury awarded $51 million in August 2024 to a South Dallas mother and her two young children after a corroded boiler exhaust pipe at their apartment complex channeled carbon monoxide into their home in 2015, leaving both children with irreversible brain injuries.
A Texas county court at law jury found a design defect in the handling of a 1996 Ford Explorer that rolled over after a rear tire lost its tread in July 2003, killing Diane Wiles. The jury put one-third of the responsibility on Ford, one-third on the driver and one-third on Ms. Wiles, and the court entered a judgment of $7,370,197.16 in actual damages. The Dallas Court of Appeals reversed in 2011 for lack of evidence of a safer alternative design.
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