January 24 , 2006

TRUCKER AWARDED $26.3 MILLION FROM JURY

By Michael P. Mayko - Connecticut Post
BRIDGEPORT - Not only was Shaun Pouliot left crippled when an 800-pound load fell on him in 2001, but his wife ran off with his best friend, leaving the paraplegic to care for three young children.

A federal court jury made history late Friday when they awarded Pouliot of Tallmadge, Ohio, a 34-year-old former independent trucker, $26.3 million - the largest award in a personal injury case in Connecticut U.S. District Court history.

The verdict ended a nine-day trial before U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall. The five-man, three-woman jury deliberated for nearly 16 hours over three days before reaching their decision.

Early Friday evening they found Arpin Logistics Inc. and Paul Arpin Van Lines, which hired Pouliot and owned the truck, liable for negligence. The two companies are located in Rhode Island.

During the trial, Michael Stratton and Michael Oh, lawyers for Stratton Faxon in New Haven, convinced the jurors a faulty lift gate on the truck caused the accident.

"The gate was out of adjustment and tilted too far out towards the street," Stratton said.

The accident occurred on Oct. 23, 2001. At the time, Pouliot was delivering a workstation enabling engineering students to demonstrate hydraulic and pneumonic tools to Naugatuck Community College in Waterbury. The school was considering buying the item.

While it was being lowered from the truck on the lift gate it tipped and fell on top of Pouliot, crushing his back.

"Arpin aggressively litigated the case for more than four years," said Stratton, who estimates he ran up $500,000 in expenses. He said they offered only $3 million to settle. "That wouldn't even pay his medical bills," Stratton said, adding that he asked for $6.5 million.

Stratton suspects the lawyers for Arpin and its AIG Insurance will seek to overturn the verdict.

"They have to convince Judge Hall that the verdict shocks the conscience," he said. "I don't think that's the case."

Stratton said he told the jury in his opening statement he would ask for $26 million and "they looked at me like I had three heads."

But after hearing of Pouliot's pain, the loss of his wife, the care he must provide for his young children and the loss of his bodily functions, the jury decided Stratton was correct in his request.