Substantial Wrongful Death Settlement Reached After Tragic Mercer County Collision

In a poignant resolution to a devastating tragedy, families of two brothers-in-law who perished in a fiery collision in Mercer County have secured a nearly $2 million settlement, highlighting the legal avenues for wrongful death redress in fatal accidents.

The Case: Ashley Reed et al. v. James W. Bilton et al.

The Court: Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer County

The Case No.: MER-L-1631-19

The Incident: Ashley Reed et al. v. James W. Bilton et al.

The wrongful death case, Ashley Reed et al. v. James W. Bilton et al., started in the early afternoon of March 26, 2018. That afternoon, Arthur “Artie” Reed and Mark Leary, brothers-in-law, drove on Route 29 in Mercer County, New Jersey. The two were going to pick up Mark’s adopted son David from school, but they never made it. That day, just before 1 pm, a 2007 Mack dump truck headed northbound on the same road collided with the two men’s vehicle. The head-on collision resulted in Artie’s car being pinned under the dump truck, at which point the two vehicles burst into flames. Artie and Mark were trapped inside. Mark was incinerated, and flames engulfed critically injured and unconscious Artie.

Settling the case: Ashley Reed et al. v. James W. Bilton et al.

The families the men left behind filed a wrongful death lawsuit, which was finally settled after six years. DAT LLC (the dump truck owner involved in the collision) and the State of New Jersey were jointly responsible for paying the nearly $2 million settlement to resolve the suit.

The Plaintiffs Claim Two Parties’ Negligence Led to the Incident:

The collision was a horrific tragedy that the plaintiffs claim was due to the negligence of two other parties that day: the driver of the dump truck (along with the entity that owned the truck) and the State of New Jersey’s negligent design of that particular stretch of Route 29 (including the shoulder, clear zone, and steep drop off from the road to the grass against the roadway that feel below appropriate standards. The grieving families made it clear throughout the wrongful death lawsuit that they believed if the dump truck driver had kept his truck in its lane or if New Jersey had complied with state and federal design standards for that stretch of Route 29, both Mark and Artie would still be alive.

Mercer County Fiery Collision: The Nearly $2 Million Settlement

The nearly $2 million settlement consisted of two payments. The 1st payment was a policy limit offer from the DATLLC insurance company; the company was forced to close its business following the incident. The 2nd $950,000 payment came from the State of New Jersey. The settlement came after long, aggressive litigation.

If you have questions about filing a California wrongful death lawsuit, please contact Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik DeBlouw LLP. Knowledgeable wrongful death attorneys are ready to assist you in various law firm offices in Riverside, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Chicago.