Largest award in history of county given

Largest award in history of county given

by Staff

January 13, 1990 - Orange Leader

A five-week wrongful death jury trial ended Friday with attorneys for the plaintiffs winning the largest amount awarded in Orange County history.

More than $$$$$$$ was awarded to the family of David Chatagnier of Bridge City, killed in an accident involving a U-Hail trailer and a faulty trailer hitch ball. U-Haul settled with the family last week with this week's testimony continuing the case against Valley Industries Inc., manufacturers of the trailer ball.

Jury deliberations began Thursday after five weeks of testimony in which a Bridge City family claimed the failure of a faulty rental trailer hitch ball caused the death of their husband and father.

Attorneys in the case made their final statements to jurors Thursday with jurors beginning deliberations that afternoon.

The civil lawsuit, which named U-Haul, Valley Industries Inc., and Errol Wilson as defendants, stemmed from an accident which occurred on a highway overpass in Milwaukee, Wis.

David and Jaime Chatagnier and their two children were traveling from Bridge City to Marquette, Michigan where Chatagnier was stationed in the Air Force.

Testimony stated that the Chatagniers, driving a Chevy S-10 truck, were pulling a U-Haul trailer loaded with their belongings when the trailer became unhitched from the bumper of the truck. The trailer was attached to the bumper by a trailer ball manufactured by Valley.

When the trailer dislodged from the truck, Chatagnier stopped and while he and Mrs. Chatagnier were trying to rehook the trailer, it was hit from the rear by a truck driven by Errol Wilson, knocking both Chatagnier and Mrs. Chatagnier over the bridge to the highway below. Chatagnier was killed instantly, while Mrs. Chatagnier was critically injured. The two children, who were in the car at the time of the accident, were unhurt. The jury decided Wilson was 15 percent responsible in the accident, U-Haul was 30 percent at fault and Valley Industries Inc. was 55 percent responsible.

In the original petition, attorneys contended U-Haul was negligent in allowing the trailer ball to be used, and renting a trailer that was too big for the small pickup.

Also, the suit states, that Valley has been knowingly manufacturing an unsafe ball. The ball, according to the suit, came loose from the bumper, causing the trailer to become unhooked from the truck.

Attorney for the plaintiffs, David Dies of Dies, Dies & Henderson, in his final argument, noted that during the testimony phase of the trial, two accident reconstruction experts were called to testify on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Dies said both those experts testified that the ball came off the bumper before impact. He added that Valley had an expert, but wondered why the defendants attorney never called him to testify.

Louis Dugas, during his arguments, questioned the definition of gross negligence. He said that gross negligence could be defined as conscience indifference. And Valley, he said, demonstrated that by allowing an unsafe trailer ball to be manufactured and sold.

Even though another trailer ball manufacturing company took an identical ball off the market. Dugas said, Valley did nothing. He said that even one of the engineers, when asked why the company didn't do anything about the ball, asked "Why should they?"

In referring to the death of Chatagnier, Dugas asked the jury, "Isn't that a good enough reason -- doesn't that answer your question?"