Trucking company owned by a Punjabi NRI hit with $3.5 million verdict Fresno (california)A jury has returned a $3.5 million verdict against a Fresno trucking company after finding it negligent in the death of a driver who died inside his burning truck on a lonely stretch of Interstate 40 in New Mexico four years ago. In Fresno County Superior Court, the jury found in favor of the family of Amarjit Khunkhun, 43, who died in March 2010 near San Jon, New Mexico, just west of the Texas border. Fluid leaking from the transmission onto hot truck parts ignited a fire underneath the cab of the truck that Khunkhun had been driving, said Bill Robins, the lead attorney for Khunkhun’s family. The verdict was against the owners of the truck — Jaswinder Gill and her husband, Avtar Gill, who operate GMG Trucking of Fresno. The jury, which deliberated about four hours, announced its verdict Friday in Judge Kristi Kapetan’s courtroom after hearing a month’s worth of testimony. Fresno attorney Paul Hager, who represented the Gills, said his clients could appeal. Robins said Avtar Gill had exchanged trucks with Khunkhun in Texas during the early hours of March 23, 2010. Khunkhun had traveled about 135 miles west before the truck caught fire, Robins said. The trucking company contended that the fire had started in the cab. Robins said New Mexico fire officials incorrectly concluded that Khunkhun had used a stove inside the cab, but no stove or propane was found in the truck’s charred remains. Hager said there was evidence that Khunkhun may have been sleeping when the fire happened. His body was found on a mattress in the sleeping quarters of the cab. His wallet was underneath the mattress, Hager said. Hager said that Khunkhun had asked Avtar Gill to switch trucks because he wasn’t feeling well and he wanted to return home. Because no one witnessed Khunkhun’s death, the trial turned into a battle of experts to determine what happened. Experts who testified on behalf of the Khunkhuns said that Avtar Gill and the trucking company had violated federal regulations in their maintenance and inspection of the truck. Robins said the defendants were aware of the transmission leak but failed to fix it before allowing Khunkhun to drive the truck. The crux of the defense was this: In the trucking industry, drivers are responsible for inspecting their big rigs before taking off, Hager said. If a big rig isn’t safe to drive, a driver has a duty not to take it on the road for the safety of others, he said. Besides, Hager said, if the transmission was broken, it would have made weird sounds that should have caused Khunkhun to pull over and inspect it. And if a fire broke out, Khunkhun should have seen the smoke and gotten out of the cab, Hager said. The defense theory was that Khunkhun had pulled over for the night, cooked a meal and went to sleep with a stove still on, Hager said. Because the jury found Khunkhun “comparatively negligent,” the verdict was reduced by 15%, Robins said. Despite the reduction, the jury award is nearly $3 million to Khunkhun’s wife and three children, who live in San Jose, he said. “A Fresno jury sent a clear message to the trucking industry that those companies who choose not to follow safety rules will be held accountable for the harm that they cause,” said Robins, of Santa Monica. He was assisted by attorney Hector Longoria of Houston and attorney Gurinder Mann of San Jose. Not only is Khunkhun’s family grateful that the jury vindicated him, but “our hope is that the jury’s message will save lives in California and elsewhere, so that others will not suffer this tremendous loss,” Robins said.
Posted on: Wed, 08 Oct 2014 12:07:36 +0000
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