$$$$$$$ award to family sets Orange County record

$$$$$$$ award to family sets Orange County record

by Magaret Toal

January 13, 1990 - Beaumont Enterprise

An Orange County jury Friday awarded nearly $$$$$$$ in total damages to the family of a Bridge City man killed in an accident after having trouble with a trailer hitch.

The decision is the largest award from an Orange County jury, and the five-week trial is the longest trial that courthouse observers can recall.

The case was filed in connection with the January 1987 death of David Chatagnier, 23, in Milwaukee, Wis.

The jury voted 10-2 that Valley Industries Inc., manufacturer of the trailer ball committed gross negligence in the manufacturing of the ball.

The jury award included $$$$$$$ in punitive damages.

Two out-of-court settlements in the case, including one from U-Haul International Inc., add another $$$$$$$ to the jury's judgment, said David Dies, who represented the Chatagnier family along with Clay Dugas.

Dies said Chatagnier, his wife, Jaime, and two young children were pulling a U-Haul trailer on their pickup truck en route to a Michigan Air Force base. "The ball separated off the bumper, causing trailer-vehicle separation that ultimately ended in a terrible accident that killed David Chatagnier and crippled his wife, Jaime, and injured his two kids," Dies said.

He said David and Jaime Chatagnier had stopped the truck to fix the trailer when a truck driven by Errol Wilson hit the trailer from behind.

The impact knocked the Chatagniers off a bridge, with David landing on this head and Jaime landing on her legs, causing crippling injuries, Dies said.

Wilson settled the case for $$$$$$$, Dies said.

U-Haul, after participating in the defense for nearly four weeks, made a settlement this past week.

Dies said the U-Haul settlement was for $$$$$$$, plus an additional $$$$$$$ if the jury did not award any damages from Valley Industries.

Russel Heald, a Beaumont attorney representing Valley Industries, had no comment on the decision.

The jury deliberated about eight hours Thursday and Friday before returning the decision to 260th District Court Judge Buddie Hahn.