$55M Awarded to Double Amputee Victim of Truck Accident
Angel May Rider, who suffered amputations of both legs after a truck hit her, was awarded $55 million on April 11, 2024. She struck a disabled vehicle that was stopped in her lane of travel. Shortly before that, another two-vehicle crash took place at the same location, with one of the vehicles leaving the scene. Rider, assisted by the driver of the car she hit, exited her vehicle and stood on the shoulder of the road, next to the guardrail. While she was talking to a 911 operator, an 18-wheeler could not stop in time and jackknifed on the wet pavement, before striking her. Rider’s legs were severed when the truck pinned her against the guardrail.
Rider, now 28, is a former coffee shop barista who is unable to work. She uses prosthetic legs and has required daily assistance since the crash. She has undergone at least fifteen surgeries since the accident, and her projected future expenses for prosthetic legs are high because prosthetics need to be replaced every three years.
The Essex County, New Jersey jury awarded Rider $559,413 for past medical bills, $2.5 million for past and future lost wages, $25 million for future medical bills, $3 million for past pain and suffering, and $23.9 million for future pain and suffering. The defendants are Alert Motor Freight, Jersey City Transport, and the estate of the truck driver who died of cancer three years after the crash.
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