Mesilla Valley Transportation reacts to $104 million verdict in wrongful death lawsuit
Gabrielle Lopez
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — On Wednesday, an El Paso jury awarded a family $104 million dollars after finding MVT Services LLC liable for the death of its employee, Orlando Robles.
The company, also known as Mesilla Valley Transportation, sent ABC-7 a statement on Friday:
“We want to take a moment to address the recent jury verdict concerning the tragic accident involving two of our drivers. Our hearts continue to go out to the families affected by this tragic accident. This loss has had a profound impact on all of us. While we respect the judicial process, we are evaluating our appellate options.”
Robles was in the sleeping compartment of an 18-wheeler when attorneys say the driver, Juan Garcia, dozed off and slammed into the back of another big rig on the side of the road. The crash happened October 2020 along I-40 in rural Oklahoma. Robles died as a result of the crash.
His mother, wife, five daughters and son sued Garcia and the trucking company. They argued MVT’s policy did not specify drivers had to sleep during their breaks, only that they had to rest. Attorneys for the family argued Garcia had been on his phone during his resting time instead of sleeping, and when he got behind the wheel they said he was too fatigued to drive.
The case went all the way to the Texas Supreme Court which declined to hear it and sent it back to the trial court, where a jury on Wednesday returned the verdict.