:dateline:The Mann Law Firm (Mohinder S. Mann and Gurinder S. Mann) along attorney Bill Robins just received a jury verdict of $3.5 million in Fresno, California for the family of Amarjit Khunkhun, a Sikh truck driver who died March 2010 in a truck fire that occurred on 1-40 West near San Jon, New Mexico.�� The complaint alleged that a poorly maintained semi-truck leaked transmission fluid and caused the fire underneath the cab of the truck that Khunkhun had been driving. The truck was owned by Jaswinder Gill, d/b/a GMG Trucking of Fresno.��“The jury sent a clear message to the trucking industry that those companies who violate safety rules and place the public in danger will be held accountable for the harm that they cause,� said Bill Robins, of Heard Robins Cloud, LLP�s Santa Monica office, lead trial attorney on the case. �On behalf of the family, our hope is that the jury’s message will save lives in California and elsewhere, so that others will not suffer this tremendous loss.�
The evidence presented by the family�s attorney established that the trucking company and its co-owner/operator, Avtar Gill, also of Fresno, had violated federal regulations in their maintenance and inspection of the truck.
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Mr. Khunkhun was found burned to death in the early morning hours of March 23, 2010 on a desolate stretch of Interstate 40 near San Jon, New Mexico.� New Mexico fire officials conducted an incomplete investigation and incorrectly concluded that the fire had started within the cab.� The New Mexico fire officials theorized that Mr. Khunkhun�s use of a Coleman stove may have caused the fire, but no stove or propane tanks were found during the investigation.
Attorneys Mohinder S. Mann, Gurinder S. Mann, and Bill Robins representing the family of Mr. Khunkhun conducted their own CSI-like investigation after learning that the inspectors found no evidence to support their theory that the fire started within the cab.�� The attorneys retained an expert in fire origin and cause, who determined that the fire actually started underneath the cab, not within the cab.��
The law firm also retained an expert in truck mechanics, who determined that the transmission had been severely damaged as a result of leaks in the transmission.� Further scientific testing established that the leaking transmission fluid had caused the fire.�� The law firm also established during discovery that the Defendant had been aware of a transmission leak, but failed to take appropriate steps to repair the truck before he provided it to Mr. Khunkhun to drive.�
The investigation by the Plaintiffs� attorneys was instrumental in disproving the blame-the-victim defense. As a result, the jury found that the acts or omissions of the defendants were negligent and found the defendants liable for $3.5 million.� The verdict was reduced by 15 percent as a result of the jury finding that Khunkhun was comparatively negligent.� �The Khunkhun family is grateful to the Jury in vindicating the driver, Amarjit Khunkhun and for holding the trucking company accountable for its actions,� said Gurinder S. Mann, co-counsel on the case.
The attorneys who represented Mr. Khunkhun included Robins, Mohinder S. Mann, Gurinder S. Mann, and Hector Longoria, of the Houston, Texas, office of Heard Robins Cloud LLP.
