Werner Enterprises agreed on July 28, 2022, to a $150 million settlement resolving a wrongful death lawsuit over a May 2020 crash on Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, Texas, in which two children were killed after a Werner tractor-trailer struck their stopped vehicle. At the time, it was reported as the largest settlement in U.S. history involving an 18-wheeler crash.1Top Class Actions. Family Receives Biggest Lawsuit Settlement in 18-Wheeler Crash History
What Happened on Interstate 30
The crash occurred around 5:00 a.m. on a morning in May 2020. A passenger vehicle came to a stop in the travel lane of I-30 near Sulphur Springs. Three adults got out of the car. Two children, ages seven and nine, remained inside. A Werner tractor-trailer, which the company said was traveling below the posted speed limit, then struck the stopped vehicle. Both children were killed.2Werner Enterprises. Werner Enterprises Announces Recent Settlement of Motor Vehicle Accident Lawsuit
Werner did not publicly disclose the names of anyone involved, citing respect for the family.3WOWT. Werner Settles Crash Lawsuit for $150 Million
Why Werner Paid Despite Disputing Fault
Werner rejected the plaintiffs’ allegations of wrongdoing. The company noted that investigating officers placed no fault on Werner or its driver, and that one of the adults who had been in the passenger vehicle was criminally charged in connection with the children’s deaths.2Werner Enterprises. Werner Enterprises Announces Recent Settlement of Motor Vehicle Accident Lawsuit
The company agreed to the payment anyway. The $150 million was funded by Werner and its insurers. Nathan Meisgeier, Werner’s chief legal officer, framed the decision as a response to the reality that corporate defendants increasingly face “nuclear verdicts” in courtrooms across the country, especially in Texas. Settling, he said, brought closure for the family and protected Werner, its employees, and its shareholders from the unpredictable outcome of a trial.2Werner Enterprises. Werner Enterprises Announces Recent Settlement of Motor Vehicle Accident Lawsuit
That calculation is the core of what “nuclear verdict” pressure means in practice. A defendant who believes it would win at trial can still face a jury award large enough to threaten the business. Settling for a large but bounded number becomes the safer choice.
The Nuclear Verdict Trend Behind the Settlement
Werner’s payout landed in the middle of a sharp escalation in trucking verdicts. Among lawsuits producing awards over $1 million, the average verdict in trucking cases rose from $2.3 million in 2010 to $22.2 million by 2018.1Top Class Actions. Family Receives Biggest Lawsuit Settlement in 18-Wheeler Crash History Roughly 5,000 fatal large-truck crashes occur in the U.S. each year, and a small share of the resulting lawsuits have produced awards that dwarf traditional damages figures. In November 2021, a Titus County, Texas, jury returned a $730 million verdict, including $250 million in punitive damages, in a case involving an oversized military load.
Against those numbers, a $150 million settlement in a case with two child deaths and a jury pool in Texas looked, to Werner’s decision-makers, like the containable outcome. That is the reasoning the company put on the record.
The Blake Case: A Different Path, Same Company
Werner’s $150 million settlement is sometimes confused with a separate $90 million Texas verdict against the company. They are different cases with different outcomes.
The Blake case arose from a December 30, 2014, collision on Interstate 20 near Odessa, Texas. Black ice covered the road. A Ford F-350 carrying Jennifer Blake and her three children lost traction, crossed a 42-foot median, and struck an oncoming Werner 18-wheeler driven by trainee Shiraz Ali. Seven-year-old Zackery Blake was killed. Twelve-year-old Brianna Blake was left permanently quadriplegic. Nathan Blake, fourteen, and Jennifer Blake suffered traumatic brain injuries.4FreightWaves. Werner Wins Big: Court Reverses $100 Million Nuclear Verdict
A Texas trooper concluded that Ali “didn’t do anything wrong” and that there was nothing he could have done to avoid the collision. Ali had slowed to about 45 mph on a 65-mph highway and remained in his lane.5Landline Media. The Most Bizarre Nuclear Verdict of Them All A Houston jury still found Werner and Ali liable in 2018, apportioning 70 percent of responsibility to Werner employees other than Ali, 14 percent to Ali, and 16 percent to Trey Salinas, the driver who had lost control. The combined award was $89,687,994.6Supreme Court of Texas. Werner Enterprises Inc. v. Blake, No. 23-0493
Werner fought that judgment through the appeals process. On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court reversed the verdict and dismissed the case, holding that Ali’s conduct was not the proximate cause of the plaintiffs’ injuries as a matter of law. The court characterized Ali’s presence on the highway as “a mere happenstance of place and time” and identified the sole proximate cause as the “sudden, unexpected hurtling of the victims’ vehicle into oncoming highway traffic.” Because the direct-negligence theories against Werner depended on Ali’s conduct being a proximate cause, those claims failed too.7Werner Enterprises. Texas Supreme Court Reverses $90 Million Judgment Against Werner Enterprises8Cozen O’Connor. Texas Supreme Court Narrows Employer Liability and Explains Standard for Proximate Cause
The reversal let Werner clear a $45.7 million liability from its books and remove a $79.2 million receivable it had recorded from insurers.9Infiniti Fleet Safety. Werner $90 Million Dollar Lawsuit
The two cases show the two directions a large trucking defendant can go when a nuclear verdict looms. Werner wrote a $150 million check to end the Sulphur Springs case in 2022. It spent seven years fighting the Blake judgment and won on appeal in 2025. The company reached different conclusions about which risk was worth taking.