Wabash to Explore All Options in Response to St. Louis Circuit Court Verdict
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – (Trailer Technician) — Wabash (NYSE: WNC) today announced it is evaluating all available legal options in response to the verdict by a St. Louis jury in Williams et al. v. Wabash. The case concerns a 2019 motor vehicle accident in which a passenger vehicle traveling at a high speed struck the back of a nearly stopped 2004 Wabash trailer.
“While this was a tragic accident, we respectfully disagree with the jury’s verdict and firmly believe it is not supported by the facts or the law,” said Wabash’s General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer Kristin Glazner. “No rear impact guard or trailer safety technology has ever existed that would have made a difference here.”
The accident occurred nearly two decades after the trailer involved was manufactured by Wabash in compliance with all existing regulatory standards.
Additionally, despite precedent to the contrary, the jury was prevented from hearing critical evidence in the case, including that the driver’s blood alcohol level was over the legal limit at the time of the accident. The fact that neither the driver nor his passenger was wearing a seatbelt was also kept from the jury, even though plaintiffs argued both would have survived a 55-mile-per-hour collision had the vehicle not broken through the trailer’s rear impact guard.
Wabash stands firmly behind the quality and safety of all its products, and this ruling will not prevent the company from continuing to provide its customers with products that contribute to safer roads.
Wabash: Changing How the World Reaches You
Wabash (NYSE: WNC) is the visionary leader of connected solutions for the transportation, logistics and distribution industries that is Changing How the World Reaches You®. Headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana, the company enables customers to thrive by providing insight into tomorrow and delivering pragmatic solutions today to move everything from first to final mile. Wabash designs, manufactures, and services a diverse range of products, including: dry freight and refrigerated trailers, flatbed trailers, tank trailers, dry and refrigerated truck bodies, structural composite panels and products, trailer aerodynamic solutions, and specialty food grade processing equipment. Learn more at www.onewabash.com.