Oroville Man Gets $1.4 Million from Malicious Trucking Firm

Amber Wheat

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We have all heard the adage “Time is Money”. Unfortunately, a Dixon-area trucking firm, B.C. Leaseco took that advice too far. Their trucks are used by Button Transportation for transporting and pumping toxic chemicals into holding tanks. To save time, B.C. Leaseco removed a safety flapper valve on the truck’s pumping system.

This, of course, lead to a serious injury to a driver, Mr. Raymond Kean. On April 29, 2005, the highly corrosive aqueous ammonia liquid fertilizer he was pumping backed up and sprayed onto him. Luckily, a worker was there with a hose and got the chemical off of him immediately. But it wasn’t enough. Mr. Kean had already breathed in the chemical sustaining major damage to his eyes and respiratory system.

For trying to save time and money, B.C. Leasco now has to pay Mr. Kean $1.4 million. And because the jury found that the trucking firm acted with malice, they are subject to punitive damages which will be quantified next month. It doesn’t seem like enough, but at least it’s something. Mr. Kean will have to have both scarred lungs replaced.

In this economy, everyone is trying to save money here and there, but it is never okay to compromise the safety of others in the process. I am proud of the eight-person jury who found both B.C. Leasco and Button Transportation liable. The award is among the largest personal injury verdicts handed down in the Chico area.

Props to Kean’s attorney Mark Valez, and his wife, Karen Valez. Good Job!