CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney James Scherr delivering his opening statement
Portland, OR - An Oregon state court jury heard opening statements Tuesday in a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $250 million from FedEx, including $158 million in potential punitive damages, for a late-night collision on an icy roadside that left a motorist dead, and the full trial is being webcast gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff attorney James Scherr of Scherr Law told the Multnomah County jury that FedEx is responsible for the 2022 death of Israel Gonzalez Sanchez, arguing the late-night accident on an icy road that took his life was the result of FedEx sending a supposedly undertrained and overworked driver into hazardous conditions.
FedEx denied any liability for the collision, arguing defendant Timothy Gettel had extensive experience working as a commercial truck driver in wintry conditions while also suggesting any potential award to the Sanchez family should be limited to $3 million or less.
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Scherr described to jurors how on the night of the incident Sanchez, 65, pulled off the shoulder of the road supposedly to assist another driver who had been involved in an unrelated fender bender with another vehicle.
Shortly afterward Scherr said the 18-wheeler truck driven by Gettel hit black ice and slammed into Sanchez, who died a few moments later.
Scherr said the accident took place during a period known within the trucking industry specifically as “The Danger Zone” telling jurors FedEx should have known accidents were much more likely to occur between midnight and 6 AM during the winter, especially involving “big rick” trucks.
He rejected any suggestion Sanchez had responsibility for the accident, insisting his hazard lights were on and that Gettell was driving 65 mph in a 60 mph zone, the impact of which Scherr suggested was increased due to the dark and icy conditions.
Scherr accused FedEx of putting drivers on schedules that don’t allow them enough rest between shifts, and he said FedEx didn’t provide specific training to big rig drivers like Gettel which could have prevented the crash.
“What kind of training does FedEx give to the drivers? None,” Scherr told the jury.
He didn’t ask for a specific amount of damages, but during opening statements on behalf of FedEx defense attorney Dylan Jackson of Wilson Smith Cochrane Dickerson told jurors the Sanchez family would seek roughly $250 million in damages.
Jackson urged jurors to reject any argument FedEx has responsibility for Sanchez’s death, claiming that while the roads were undoubtedly icy at the time they were still open to general traffic and didn’t present an especially hazardous situation that would have warranted FedEx departing from standard operating procedures.
He characterized Gettel as a veteran CDL driver who received extensive vetting from his director employer and co-defendant True North Trucking Company, which FedEx contracts with. Jackson suggested FedEx could and did reasonably rely on representations from established companies like TNT that they use experienced drivers.
Jackson explained that the entire collision was fully documented by Gettel’s dash camera, and he said a common sense-based interpretation of what that video shows will clear Gettel and FedEx of any liability.
“This is 100 percent captured on video, and that speaks for itself,” he said. “That’s what you’re going to be able to make your decision on, not a bunch of confusing statues.”
In asking jurors to reject Scherr’s eventual request for $250 million in damages, Jackson did leave the door open to some award of damages to the Sanchez estate, suggesting $3 million or less in compensatory damages only could be reasonable in the event of an adverse liability finding.
The trial is taking place before Judge Adrian L. Brown, and CVN’s live and on-demand coverage will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
The case is captioned Estate of Israel Gonzalez Sanchez vs Fedex Corp., Fedex Corporation, et al., case number 24CV53783 in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
