July 31, 2026
A jury in Porter County, Indiana just awarded $18.5 million to a truck driver who lost part of his toe in a crane accident. The jury also awarded his wife a separate $800,000. They found the trucking company fully at fault, not the driver.
Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers represented the driver and his wife at trial (Case No. 64D05-2401-CT-000274, Porter Superior Court 5).
What Went Wrong at the Warehouse
The driver picked up steel orders from a company called Steel Warehouse. For years, workers loaded these orders in two steps. They put the widest steel sheets on the trailer first, then stacked the rest on top.
In the summer of 2022, the company changed how it loaded trucks. Workers started lifting the whole order at once, with the widest sheets at the bottom. This caused the steel to bend and bow while it hung in the air. The crane operator had already lost one load this way before this driver ever got hurt.
To fix the problem, workers wrapped the crane’s lifting arm with tow chains and tightened them with metal clamps called lever binders. Here’s the catch: those clamps were never built to hold a hanging load. They store up tension as you tighten them, and they can snap open with force. Safer tools existed. The company didn’t use them.
The company also skipped some basic safety steps. It did not:
- Train workers on the new loading method
- Update its safety rules
- Check the risks of the new setup before using it
- Recertify the crane after changing how it worked
The crane operator himself wasn’t even certified by the company until after this driver got hurt.
The Day He Got Hurt
On January 19, 2023, the driver showed up for a 42,000-pound load of steel. The crane operator was worried about this load and told his bosses. They told him to load it anyway.
Once the load sat on the driver’s trailer, the operator couldn’t get one of the metal clamps to open. Instead of forcing it himself with a makeshift tool, he went to get a supervisor. The supervisor came and tried to force the clamp open. He lost control of it. It hit the driver’s left foot as he walked back toward the trailer.
Doctors later removed half of his big toe. He also developed a painful nerve condition called CRPS. Doctors had to put a small device in his spine to help manage the pain. He hasn’t gone back to work driving trucks since.
What the Jury Decided
At trial, the company’s lawyers argued the driver shared some blame for his injury. They said he should have worn steel-toe boots and shouldn’t have been near the trailer. The jury didn’t buy it.
After about two hours of deliberation, the jury found the company 100% at fault. They awarded:
- $18.5 million to the driver
- $800,000 to his wife, Wendy, for how the injury affected their marriage
The company had offered $3.5 million to settle before the verdict came back.
What This Case Means for You
Companies have to keep their workers and the people who visit their sites safe. That includes truck drivers picking up loads, not just employees on the payroll. When a company changes how it does something dangerous, like lifting heavy steel, it has to think through the risks first. It has to train its people. It has to use the right tools for the job.
When it doesn’t, and someone gets hurt, the law gives that person a way to hold the company responsible.
Read more: The Benefits of Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
Talk to Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers Today
If you got hurt on the job, or while making a delivery or pickup at a work site, you may have a case. Custy Law Firm | Accident & Injury Lawyers handles cases like this one across Indiana and Illinois. The firm takes cases on contingency, which means you pay nothing up front, and the first conversation is free.
Call (219) 286-7361 or fill out the online contact form to talk with someone about what happened to you.
