HOUSTON - A Dallas County jury recently returned a $37.5 million verdict against Oncor Electric Delivery Co. and one of its employees in a lawsuit over an automobile collision that claimed the life of truck driver Shamsher Singh in 2021.
Oncor lineman Joseph Pederson was driving an Oncor service vehicle, a Ford F-150, along I-635 West in Dallas on Aug. 7, 2021, when the vehicle slammed into the back of Singh’s 18-wheeler, which was disabled between the outside lane and shoulder, court records state.
Singh was outside his vehicle, inspecting it on the passenger side by the retaining wall, when the collision occurred. He was pinned between his vehicle’s tire and the retaining wall and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Evidence at trial included traffic video of the accident, which clearly showed that Pederson was distracted behind the wheel and never applied his brakes before veering into the big rig, according to Zehl & Associates, the law representing Singh’s family.
“The family is relieved that this case is over and that Oncor and Mr. Pederson have been held accountable for this tragedy,” said Ryan Zehl, Zehl & Associates’ founding partner. “As we were able to show at trial, this accident was absolutely preventable, and the jury understood that.”
Court records show the jury found both Singh and Pedersen negligent, assigning the majority of the blame, 84 percent, to Pedersen.
Singh’s widow and his three children are also represented by Zehl attorneys Matt Greenberg and Mike Streich, along with co-counsel Michael Lyons from Lyons & Simmons.
The charge of the court was entered on April 11, court records show.
The case, Baldish Kaur, et al. vs. Oncor Electric Delivery Company NTU LLC, et al., was heard in the 160th Civil District Court of Dallas County.
Case No. DC-21-12096