Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Truck Accident with Bicycle: $8.5M Verdict

A New Hampshire jury has awarded $8.5 million to the family of a man who was run over by a truck when he fell off his bicycle while being passed while going around a curve in the road. 

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of Jon Paul Lacaillade II, who died on August 25, 2008, when he was run over by a tractor-trailer owned by Loignon Camp-Carr, Inc.

According to police reports, Lacaillade was sprint training on a Bottechia road bicycle when he pedaled over a section of broken pavement on Route 25 in Porter, Maine. He lost control and fell in the path of the truck and was crushed under its wheels. The driver, Renald Morin, of Quebec, was not criminally charged in the fatal truck accident.

The plaintiffs accused Loignon Camp-Carr of improperly training Morin, who they say did not give Lacaillade enough clearance while passing him on the road. They also argued that Morin should have never tried to pass Lacaillade while the two were going around a curve in the road.

The company said the accident was caused by the poor condition of the road, and that Morin gave Lacaillade plenty of room.

The jury sided with Lacaillade’s family, and awarded $2.5 million to Lacaillade’s widow and another $2.5 million to be split between his two children, and an additional $3.5 million in damages for lost wages and household services.