Provo, UT - A Utah state court jury heard opening statements Monday in lawsuit filed on behalf of a child struck and killed by a truck in a crosswalk, and the full trial is being webcast and recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
Plaintiff attorney Sean Claggett of Claggett & Sykes Trial Lawyers, representing the family of decedent Michael Madsen, told the Provo District Court jury that Allied Building Products is responsible for the 2018 accident due to their hiring an allegedly inexperienced and careless driver.
A pre-trial ruling found the driver, Rusty Cope, was negligent in causing the crash but Allied, which is being sued as Beacon Roofing Supply after the company was acquired, argues Madsen ran in front of the truck and also should be assigned responsibility for the accident.
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Claggett told jurors during his opening statement that Madsen, then 11, and two companions crossed a street at a marked intersection with the light. He accused Cope of making a turn across the crosswalk recklessly, suggesting visibility was clear and he should have seen 3 children at the curb waiting to cross at a marked intersection.
Claggett argued Cope should never have made it through the application screening process, noting he had numerous traffic violations on his record and only received his commercial drivers license learning permit three days before submitting an application to Allied, where his brother-in-law processed and approved his application.
Claggett devoted a substantial portion of his opening to showing Cope’s training manual, which was filled with doodles and inappropriate sketches and comments. He didn’t disclose the amount of damages he would seek at the conclusion of the trial but did tell jurors it would be “significant.”
Representing Beacon, defense attorney Ruth Shapiro of Jones Skelton Hochuli PLC acknowledged that suggesting a child had responsibility for his own death is not a “popular” position but noted that defense attorneys frequently have to make arguments based on difficult facts.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Ruth Shapiro delivering her opening statement
She argued Cope’s testimony and accident reconstruction experts would prove Cope couldn’t have seen Madsen and his companions at the busy intersection, and that Madsen supposedly ran into the crosswalk after Cope began his turn. By the time Cope finally did see Madsen, Shapiro argued reconstruction experts would testify it was impossible to avoid hitting him.
CVN’s live and on-demand gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial will continue for the duration of the proceedings.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
