Car Accident Attorney Wins $8.97M for Crash Involving Domino’s Pizza Driver

By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on July 12th, 2019

A Florida jury has awarded $8.97 million in damages to the widow of a former fire chief who became a quadriplegic after he swerved his car and crashed on a Florida highway to avoid a collision with a car being driven into his lane by a Domino’s pizza delivery driver.

The victim, Richard Wiederhold, was 62 years old and had retired as a fire chief in Brevard County, Florida, when the crash occurred in March of 2011 on Florida State Road 50, according to a June 14 report by CVN.com. Wiederhold was driving in his truck along the road when he allegedly swerved sharply to avoid a collision with a pizza delivery car being driven by Jeffrey Kidd, the story reported. Wiederhold’s truck drove into the median and then back across the roadway before overturning following the near-collision.

Wiederhold was left a quadriplegic due to his injuries and was unable to care for himself after the crash. He later died about 15 months after the incident due to complications from his injuries, the report stated.

Kidd, the driver of the Domino’s delivery vehicle, was found by a jury in Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit court to be 100% responsible for the crash that led to Wiederhold’s injuries. “Jurors concluded Kidd, and the Fischler Enterprises Domino’s franchise he worked for at the time of the crash, were agents of the larger Domino’s Pizza corporate franchisor, rendering the pizza giant, the case’s named defendant, liable,” the story reported.

Domino’s argued that the franchise Kidd worked for was an independent business and that the corporation was not responsible for his conduct, but the jury disagreed.

The jury awarded $8 million to Wiederhold’s widow, Yvonne, and more than $970,000 for medical and other expenses related to his care. Yvonne Wiederhold was a passenger in his truck on the day of the crash but the couple had not yet married. Yvonne Wiederhold said in trial testimony that Kidd caused the wreck by pulling dangerously into Wiederhold’s path.

This was the second trial in the case. The plaintiffs won an earlier verdict in 2016 in the case but it was overturned in 2018, with orders for a new trial.

Legal cases like this one occur around the nation every day and are examples of similar kinds of car crash cases that MyPhillyLawyer attorneys regularly work on tirelessly for our own clients. Often, we are not able to discuss the cases we are actively working on due to confidentiality requirements, so we discuss other relevant cases in the news such as this one to illustrate the legal situations people find themselves in every day.

When you need a car accident injury attorney, we here at MyPhillyLawyer stand ready to assist you with your legal case if you or a loved one is ever seriously injured in any kind of car crash, slip and fall, workplace injury or wrongful death in Philadelphia or anywhere in the United States. We pledge to make sure that you and your family get the compassionate, dogged and experienced legal representation that you deserve and expect from a professional legal team which works hard to uncover every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.

We represent the families of victims who die in such tragedies as well, to ensure that their families receive every penny of damages that they are eligible to receive.

Talk to a Philadelphia car crash attorney at MyPhillyLawyer by calling 215-914-5471 or toll-free at 1-(866) 352-4572 anytime and our experienced, compassionate, aggressive team of attorneys and support staff will be there for you and your family every step of the way as we manage your case through the legal system.

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Listen to Court Radio every Sunday at 7 a.m. with me, attorney Dean Weitzman of MyPhillyLawyer, on Philadelphia’s Old School 100.3 WRNB, Boom 103.9 or on Classix 107.9 WPPZ FM. Listen to Court Radio online or on the radio every week for the latest on legal topics and to get answers to your legal questions. In addition to addressing the topical issues of the day, we’ll answer caller questions on a wide range of legal issues.