A Dallas family of seven has filed a federal lawsuit against a North Carolina trucking company and its driver after they were seriously injured in a crash involving an 18-wheeler.
The lawsuit, filed Aug. 9 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, was brought by Mario Garcia, Ana Laura Ramirez, Cristina Ramirez and four children. The family filed the suit against driver Swarn Singh Kharia and trucking company MK & SK Logistics Inc. after a Nov. 5 crash led to extensive and permanent injuries, according to court records.
The family was traveling on Interstate 20 on Nov. 5 through Colorado City, a small city about 109 miles from Lubbock, when their vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer operated by Kharia, the lawsuit says. Kharia “failed to control his speed, failed to keep a proper lookout and failed to timely apply his brakes,” the suit says.
The family was relocating from California to Dallas when they were struck by the truck, which was fully loaded, attorneys said in an announcement. The family’s vehicle overturned after it was struck by the 18-wheeler. The family was injured but able to escape the vehicle before it was struck again by a third vehicle.
“This is yet another unfortunate example of dangerous inattention by truck drivers when they fail to control their speed and keep a proper lookout,” attorney Derek Potts of Potts Law Firm LLP in Houston said in the announcement. “Such situations require extreme caution as opposed to recklessness. Our clients are lucky to be alive.”
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MK & SK Logistics, registered in Holly Springs, North Carolina, has two drivers and two power units, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The company hauls general freight, household goods and building materials.
Company drivers for MK & SK Logistics were involved in two injury crashes in the past two years, according to FMCSA reports. The company does not have an FMCSA rating listed.
The family is seeking money for medical expenses and lost wages in excess of $75,000. The announcement by attorneys for the family stated that it was a “multimillion-dollar lawsuit” but did not provide an exact amount.
MK & SK Logistics did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the lawsuit.