1971-02-17-sr-p6-mann-shell-lawsuit

February 17, 1971 Spokesman-Review Page 6:

Crash Injury Suits Filed for Brothers

Suits brought in U.S. District Court on behalf of two brothers seek a total of $209,000 in damages resulting from a traffic accident in April 1968.

The two suits were brought against Shell Oil Co. by Jack M. Mann, Reardan, Wash., on behalf of his sons Timothy L., 10, and James D., 15, who were injured when the auto they were riding in was in an accident involving a Shell flatbed truck pulling a fertilizer applicator trailer.

The suit for Timothy asks $104,000 for head injuries, jaw fracture, dental damage, facial injuries and two leg fractures. The suit for James asks $105,000 for head injuries including fractures of face and jaw, cuts of tongue and palate, a cerebral concussion and headaches allegedly continuing to the present.

The suit states the accident occurred on a county road 1.4 miles west of Reardan after dark on April 10, 1968. It claims the Shell truck was stopped in the eastbound lane with no lights on the trailer and that another Shell truck with headlights on slowed down as it passed the other vehicle going west.

This situation, the suit contends, blocked both lanes so that the car the brothers were riding in collided with the rear end of trailer in the eastbound lane.