As he loaded an entertainment center into the U-Haul trailer he had rented, James Hefley noted a lack of internal tie down points in the trailer and improvised by securing the entertainment center with three rachet straps he attached to the trailer’s outer edges. When the entertainment center fell out of the trailer on a highway, its 30-pound base flew through the air and crashed through Maria Federici's windshield, hitting her across the eyes.
As a result of the accident, the bones in Maria’s face were completely shattered. She suffered permanent brain damage, the loss of both eyes, and her senses of taste and smell, among other impairments. Even after seven reconstructive surgeries, her face bears little resemblance to how it looked before the accident. Maria, who lives with her mother, now requires a service dog to get around and hopes to soon be able to live on her own.
Shortly after the accident, Maria and her mother were referred to AAJ member Simon Forgette of Kirkland, who took her case after examining the U-Haul trailer involved and seeing clear indications that it was unsafe for do-it-yourself movers. Together with Seattle attorney William Leedom, Forgette filed suit on behalf of Maria against U-Haul and Hefley.
In addition to claiming each party acted negligently, Maria’s suit also claimed that U-Haul’s “RO model” trailer was not reasonably safe as a result of its low tailgate and the absence of internal tie down points, and that U-Haul failed to warn renters that large items can fall out of an open trailer. “U-Haul failed to provide any instructions to renters regarding how cargo loaded into RO trailers could be secured,” Forgette says. “U-Haul’s load restraining safety system consisted primarily of leaving it up to the do-it-yourself mover to secure the load.”
Maria’s accident was widely reported in the local media, and interest in the case was reignited before the trial, when the court refused to admit evidence that Maria—who had one glass of wine the evening of the accident—had a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, presumably a key piece of U-Haul’s defense strategy.
Forgette believes it is important for people to know exactly why the evidence was kept out. The computer enzyme analyzer used by the hospital to analyze blood assigns the same color marker to a chemical known as NADH as it does to alcohol, then prints results based on the color detected by the machine. “When you lose as much blood as Maria did, your body produces the chemical NADH,” Forgette said. “The hospital’s analyzer wrongly read the NADH in Maria’s blood as alcohol.”
-Taken from Woman’s traumatic highway accident exposes dangers of unsecured loads, inspires new laws
Federici v. U-Haul Intl., Wash., King Co. Super., No. 06-2-11563-5 SEA, Nov. 9, 2007.
1. What are U-Hauls responsibilities as the bailor?
2. What are Hefley's responsibilities as the bailee?
3. Given what you know about this case, what would be your verdict?
4. Why?
