by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
A Jacksonville truck driver whose claim that a “fender bender” left him unable to work has had his case dismissed with prejudice in Duval County Circuit Court.
The June 17 order by Judge Haldane L. Taylor means that William Garrett may not refile his claim. Garrett has until July 17 to appeal the order.
Though dismissing a case with prejudice is not unheard of, it is “very unusual,” said several local judges and attorneys.
In his personal injury suit, Garrett said he had suffered permanent neck injuries that required surgery after his parked truck was hit by a Commercial Carrier Corp. trailer in November 2002.
Commercial Carrier, based in Auburndale, is the largest in-state trucking company in Florida.
Garrett was parked at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery loading dock, waiting to pick up an order, when he was struck by a CCC driver attempting to back his trailer into an adjoining stall, according to testimony and court documents.
Garrett testified that he was alone in his truck at the time and that he was thrown four feet, hitting his head on top of the sleeper berth, said E.T. Fernandez III, CCC’s lead attorney.
“Mr. Garrett went and had neck surgery and, to this day, has not returned to work,” said Fernandez, with the Jacksonville firm of Inman and Fernandez. “He said he’s afraid the little plate in his neck will break and render him paralyzed.”
His client’s trailer was backing up at 5 mph and only caused “cosmetic damage” to Garrett’s grill, Fernandez said.
Garrett testified there had been no witnesses to the incident and that he had not been involved in any other accident that could have caused problems with his neck, said Fernandez.
However, court documents revealed that Garrett had been involved in a 1984 accident that resulted in a settlement and payment in his favor for permanent neck injuries.
In questioning Garrett about the absence of witnesses, “We probably asked the question not less than 10 different ways,” Fernandez said. “We even described the person we thought was in the cab.”
After a short break for additional reflection, Garrett returned to the stand and conceded a woman had been in the tractor with him.
“Mr. Garrett was horrifically angry at the damage to his chrome grill,” said Fernandez. “It doesn’t appear he noticed that the lady in his cab stepped out to see what all the commotion was and talked to our driver.
“The lady said there was no way it happened the way he said it did. She said there wasn’t four inches of space for him to move around in.”