On November 13, 2020, a Mobile County, Alabama jury returned a defense verdict in favor of a street sweeping company represented by MMBAT Donald Partridge.  The same jury awarded a judgment in favor of the Plaintiff and against a co-defendant trucking company for $2,000,000 for personal injuries to a  Mobile County Deputy Sheriff who had been rear-ended on Interstate 10 near Mobile during a sweeping operation. 

On the night of the wreck, the sweeping company had requested “blue light assistance” as part of its traffic control of the work zone.  The Deputy’s vehicle was placed at the rear of the sweeping operation, making it the first warning to approaching traffic that a sweeping operation was taking place up ahead.  The Plaintiff offered an expert’s opinion that, because the sweeping company had paid the Plaintiff for his services, he should be considered as part of the work crew of the sweeping company, and should have had a buffer truck placed behind him equipped with a crash attenuator to protect him from oncoming traffic per the sweeping company’s contract with the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).