Last month, testimony began in the wrongful death case filed by the family of Dr, Jerry Don Lance, an oral surgeon in Waco, Texas who “died last year when an employee of a local auto dealership backed over him in a parking lot with an SUV.” In total, his family is seeking $1 million in damages.
Last month, testimony began in the wrongful death case filed by the family of Dr, Jerry Don Lance, an oral surgeon in Waco, Texas who “died last year when an employee of a local auto dealership backed over him in a parking lot with an SUV.” In total, his family is seeking $1 million in damages.
According to the lawsuit, Ernesto Ramirez, the driver who backed into Lance, was driving a Ford Expedition at the time of the accident. Prior to the accident, Lance had dropped his vehicle off at Bird-Kultgen auto dealership for service around 7:30 a.m. While waiting for his wife to pick him up, he began looking at new cars on the lot. Tragically, while walking around the lot, he was struck by a 2017 Ford Expedition “that was traveling backward down the aisle of new vehicles at a high rate of speed,” according to Waco attorney John Mabry Jr., who is representing the Lance family with attorney John Lewis.
According to the lawsuit, detectives with the Waco Police Department determined that “Mr. Ramirez was at fault for ‘backing without safety,’” and added that the “Expedition was traveling so fast, and struck Dr. Lance with such force, that his body crumpled the rear liftgate and crimped the metal.” Mabry also noted that investigators said, “Lance was dragged more than 20 feet by the Expedition, which was going 16 mph to 22 mph in reverse when it struck him.”
As a result of the accident, Lance sustained a slew of injuries, including “head injuries, internal bleeding, multiple facial fractures, eight broken ribs, a fractured pelvis, and a broken hand.” Eleven days after the collision, he passed away at a local hospital.
During opening statements, Mabry described Lance as a “man with a generous heart, a great sense of humor and a passion to help others.” While speaking to the jurors, he added:
“Why are we here, you might be wondering. We’re here because Bird-Kultgen Ford and Mr. Ramirez still refuse to accept responsibility for Dr. Lance’s death and catastrophic damage done to this family. Bird-Kultgen Ford and Mr. Ramirez still refuse to accept responsibility for this terrible tragedy and seem intent on blaming Dr. Lance for his own death even though they have absolutely no evidence that he was in any way negligent.”
Andrew T. McKinney IV, the lead attorney for Bird-Kultgen pushed back and called the incident a “tragic accident that occurred in a split second.” He added that the “auto dealership was not at fault” and said:
“Accidents happen every day. Tragedies happen every day. But these things are a part of the human condition. This is a human tragedy. That is what it is.”
While speaking in the courtroom, McKinney said that “employees opened the lots for customers the same way for years and no injuries or ‘near misses’ had occurred on the dealership lot.” He added:
“Nothing of the kind would suggest that this process was in some form or fashion some kind of threat to customers. The reason is that this is the first time that a customer somehow managed to become or put themselves in the path of a vehicle.”
McKinney further argued that “Lance’s deteriorating mental health was a factor in the incident.” It was revealed during the litigation process that Lance suffered from mental health issues.
Sources:
Wrongful death trial against car dealership begins
Oral surgeon’s family files wrongful death suit against auto dealership
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