A concrete mixer manufacturer designed its vehicles with a dangerous defect. In this particular model, when the truck’s drum was empty, and the tag axle was engaged, the wheels housing the truck’s only parking brake lifted off the ground. This flaw resulted in catastrophic, life-altering injuries to Dustin Boswell, a blue-collar cement worker in Oklahoma who owned one of the trucks. To attain justice and illustrate the truck’s lack of safety features, Luke Abel and Matt Wade of the Abel Law Firm utilized animations outlining the trucks’ faulty mechanics and how it nearly killed their client, securing a favorable, confidential settlement.

On the day of the incident, Dustin parked the truck after pouring cement in a suburban neighborhood. He stopped on a slightly downward-sloping street, one where a properly functioning brake would have sufficed. Dustin stood on the tag axle to clean out the drum when, to his surprise, the truck’s wheels began to roll down the hill. He lost balance and fell directly into the truck’s path. His shirt pinned by the large tires, Dustin was unable to free himself. The tag axle wheels rolled on top of Dustin, dragging him nearly 25 feet across the rough, dirty asphalt. He suffered devastating, disabling injuries.

Dustin arrived at the emergency room with collapsed lungs, deep lacerations, and fractures across his body. After recovering in the hospital for a month, Dustin sought help attaining justice for his permanent injuries, contacting Matt Wade and Luke Abel of the Abel Law Firm. Matt and Luke met with Dustin and his family, and realized how the incident derailed their livelihood. They learned that Dustin’s debilitating injuries required a lifetime of future medical care. Thus, the two agreed to help Dustin attain compensatory damages for his suffering and loss of earnings.

Matt and Luke learned how the vehicle’s hydraulic tag axles deploy to provide stability and even weight distribution when the cement tank was full. However, when the tank was empty, the tag axle lifted the vehicle’s rear wheels off the ground, disengaging the only parking brake. They retained several experts, including an economist who created a life care plan to aid in Dustin’s future medical expenses and his loss of income. They brought on several engineers who assessed the truck model and testified how the company produced them inappropriately. Additionally, the experts revealed that no warning labels acknowledged the defect within the operation manual.

However, as Matt and Luke began preparing for trial, they anticipated difficulty conveying how the accident stemmed from the manufacturer’s defect and not user error. As a result, Matt and Luke enlisted DK Global’s help to work with their engineers and create several animations, modeling the truck’s flawed design, Dustin’s mechanism of injury, and his resulting damages.

The animation began by outlining the trucks’ mechanics. Computer graphics illustrated the parking brake defect. Then, Dustin’s accident was recreated, showing the truck set into motion once he started cleaning the drum. Dustin lost his footing and fell, the vehicle dragging him under its massive weight. The animation concluded with an overview of Dustin’s damages, illustrating the gravity of his injuries resulting from the manufacturer’s negligent design.

Matt and Luke attended a mediation with the opposing counsel and effectively outlined the truck’s defects using the animation. After careful deliberation, they attained a substantial settlement for Dustin and his family.

Luke Abel received an “AV rating” by Martindale-Hubbell, a peer-given review awarded to attorneys ranked at the highest level of professional excellence. He has continuously been recognized as a “Rising Star” and “Super Lawyer.” Since joining Abel Law Firm in 2006, Luke has represented the victims of catastrophic injuries, medical malpractice, product liability, and was named one of the “Top 100 Attorneys” by The National Trial Lawyers.

With his previous experience and knowledge as a defense attorney for a large insurance carrier, Matthew Wade represents the survivors of personal injury, product liability, and nursing home negligence. Since joining Abel Law Firm in 2014, Matt has assisted in attaining numerous multi-million-dollar results for their clients. In 2021, Matt was recognized as a “Super Lawyer”.