HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals has affirmed a summary judgment ruling in favor of Service Transport Company in a lawsuit brought after a truck driver fell off the top of his tanker and died.
The family of Oberlin Garcia filed suit against STC, alleging the company was grossly negligent by allowing or requiring Garcia to climb the ladder on the side of his trailer to open vent doors on top of the trailer without providing fall training and protective equipment.
Garcia was a commercial truck driver who transported hazardous liquid chemicals in a tanker trailer for delivery to various customer facilities throughout the country, states the First Court’s Aug. 30 opinion.
Court records show STC filed a motion for summary judgment on no-evidence and traditional grounds.
The First Court held that the trial court properly granted summary judgment because no evidence supported an essential element of the plaintiffs’ gross negligence action against STC.
“We conclude that no evidence establishes that, when viewed objectively and prospectively from STC’s perspective, STC’s act of requiring or permitting its truck drivers to climb on top of tankers to open the crash box without fall protection involved an extreme degree of risk,” the opinion states. “Specifically, no evidence shows that serious harm is likely to result from engaging in this activity.”
Case No. 01-21-00235-CV