MARSHALL - A truck driver has filed a lawsuit against the operator of a weigh station facility claiming that he fell from the scale after being forced out of his truck at an unsafe time.
Christopher Sharper filed suit against Trinity Materials Inc. on Nov. 30 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.
The incident occurred on Nov. 16, 2011, as Sharper was at a weigh station located in Wills Point. The defendant operated a weigh station scale to determine the weight of trucks entering the public roadways after purchasing and loading their materials.
Sharper’s truck was loaded with base material and he was required to drive his truck onto a weigh scale to determine its legal weight. The operator determined that the truck was overweight and instructed Sharper to exit the truck. Sharper claims the facility provided no place for him to exit the truck safely and he was forced to stand on the railing by the operator.
He exited his truck and stood on a rail approximately 8 feet above the ground.
“With no safety bar, or platform, Plaintiff lost his footing and fell approximately eight (8) feet to the ground,” court documents state.
According to the suit, Sharper fractured four ribs, punctured a lung and fractured his back and wrist.
The defendant is accused of negligence for requiring the plaintiff to exit his vehicle at a time and location that was unsafe to do so, for requiring Sharper to stand on a high rail without touching or holding his vehicle for support, and for failing to act as a reasonable person or vendor in the same or similar position.
The plaintiff is seeking an award of damages for physical and mental pain, suffering and anguish, medical expenses, physical impairment, loss of income, loss of earning capacity, interest, court costs and exemplary damages.
Sharper is represented by John C. Ginn of Smith McDowell Ginn in Sulphur Springs. A jury trial is requested.
Case No. 2:12-cv-00738
Truck driver sues weigh station facility after falling from scale
