Texas Family Awarded $32 Million after Fatal Domino’s Delivery Accident

August 30th, 2013 by Thomas J. Henry

A family from Beaumont, Texas has been awarded $32 million after Domino’s Pizza was found liable in an accident caused by one of their delivery drivers.

About the Domino’s Pizza Delivery Accident

According to NBC, the accident occurred last August in Beaumont, Texas, about 90 miles Northeast of Houston.
Domino’s Pizza delivery driver, Joshua Balka, lost control of his car colliding with a vehicle carrying Ruth Christopher, 65, and her husband Devavaram Christopher, 70.
Mrs. Christopher died in the hospital the next day, and Mr. Christopher suffered a permanent traumatic brain injury leaving him unable to communicate.
Mr. Balka received a citation for speeding.

Jury Finds Domino’s Pizza Partially Liable for the Accident

“We also learned that Domino’s enforces a tragically unsafe delivery method by providing bonuses and other incentives for fast delivery.” – Chip Ferguson, the family’s attorney, as published by NBC

An investigation determined that the cause of the accident was due to Mr. Balka’s speeding in correlation to defective and worn tires.
One of Mr. Balka’s tires was so worn that the tire did not have any tread.
The jury determined that Domino’s Pizza was 60 percent responsible for the accident as the company did not enforce its policy that drivers’ vehicles be inspected.
As a result, the family of Mr. and Mrs. Christopher were awarded $32 million.
Domino’s Pizza plans to appeal the decision stating that the employee did not work for their company, but an independent franchise. They further claimed that a franchisor is not responsible for the actions of a franchisee to such a “minute level of detail” of day-to-day operations.

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