PHOENIX, April 23, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- An Omaha (Neb.) jury reached a defense verdict in U-Haul Company's favor, in the matter of Shari Erickson v. U-Haul International, Inc. and U-Haul Company of Nebraska, Doc. 1017 No 343, in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska.
On July 24, 2000, Shari Erickson was helping her father, Dale Carstens, move using a U-Haul truck. Mrs. Erickson was holding the extended loading ramp up from the back of the truck as Mr. Carstens backed the truck up a grassy slope. Mrs. Erickson's foot was caught between the loading ramp and a concrete step, causing serious injury.
The plaintiff's case alleged that the U-Haul equipment was defective in design and lacked adequate warnings. The plaintiff's counsel asked the jury for an award of $899,280 to compensate for $106,000 in medical expenses and additional amounts of money in alleged lost wages. The case was tried to verdict for the U-Haul defendants by Steve Strauss of Bryan Cave. The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a verdict in favor of U-Haul, finding that U-Haul was not negligent, and that the accident was the fault of the plaintiff.
"U-Haul is obviously pleased with the jury's verdict in this case. While the company is very sympathetic towards the plaintiff's injuries, we will continue to stand by our quality products," stated Larry De Respino, U-Haul general counsel.
Since 1945, U-Haul has been the first choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 15,950 locations in all 50 United States and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 100,000 trucks, 78,500 trailers and 31,100 towing devices. As a result, U-Haul offers more than 384,000 rooms and more than 33.8 million square feet of storage space at more than 1,055 facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the consumer's number one choice as the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry.
U-Haul supplies alternative-fuel for vehicles and backyard barbecues as one of the nation's largest retailers of propane.