Getting Home For Christmas Costs $15 Million And An Amputated Leg

Bob Carroll

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Trying to get home for Christmas a truck driver falsified his daily log. When his driving caused a serious accident in which a man lost his leg, a jury awarded $10 Million in punitive damages.

Jury awards $15M to truck-wreck victim

Tucson, Arizona - A Bowie man who lost his leg after being hit by an 18-wheeler on Christmas Eve four years ago was awarded $15 million Wednesday by a federal jury.

The jury ordered Little Bear Transport of Utah to pay 58-year-old Bruce Austin $5 million in compensatory damages and $10 million in punitive damages following a five-day trial in U.S. District Court in Tucson.

[The truck driver] admitted that prior to the crash he had falsified his daily log book to make it appear as though he hadn't driven as far as he had -- allowing him to get home for Christmas.

Florida highways are always crowded with large trucks and tractor-trailers. Most of the commercial drivers are conscientious and honestly complying with the rules of their profession. Some, however, try to operate outside the limitations on their hours of driving. And, they are not just trying to get home for Christmas.