The Mayer team, led by partner Andrew Mihalick, secured summary judgment for a client in a federal negligence action arising from a workplace injury involving a commercial trailer. The plaintiff, a commercial driver employed by a third-party freight company under contract with our client, alleged she was injured when a trailer door unexpectedly fell onto her hand. After receiving workers’ compensation benefits through her employer, she filed suit against our client seeking more than $500,000 in damages.

After moving the case to federal court and designating the plaintiff’s employer as a responsible third party, the Mayer team focused discovery on the plaintiff’s own statutory inspection duties and conduct on the day of the incident. Electronic logging data, load sheets, bills of lading, and delivery records established that the plaintiff inspected the trailer and doors before leaving the yard—as required under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations—and opened and closed the door more than a dozen times throughout the day without issue.

At deposition, confronted with this documentary evidence, the plaintiff could not refute that she had no reason to believe the trailer door was defective prior to the incident. Discovery further revealed that before becoming a commercial driver, she had performed annual vehicle safety inspections in prior employment, reinforcing her familiarity with inspection protocols and the importance of identifying equipment issues.

In moving for summary judgment, the Mayer team combined these facts with a focused legal strategy, emphasizing both the plaintiff’s contributory role and the absence of expert testimony required to establish any breach of an industry standard of care. The court agreed, granting summary judgment and ordering that the plaintiff receive nothing. The result reflects Mayer’s strength in pairing deep industry knowledge with disciplined discovery and motion practice, allowing the team to resolve complex claims efficiently and decisively.