New Mexico jury awards $47M in tanker truck crash lawsuit

The award also comes amid growing concerns about so-called nuclear verdicts — jury awards exceeding $10 million — and their impact on trucking companies’ insurance costs and financial stability. 

According to an Oct. 13 blog post from the plaintiffs’ attorneys at Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C., the November 2022 crash occurred on a two-lane highway near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

The law firm alleged that the commercial tanker truck driver was traveling too fast for weather conditions and failed to see or react to Drewry’s approaching vehicle before the head-on collision.

A 2025 American Transportation Research Institute study found that allegations of speeding and other pre-crash negligence can significantly increase jury awards against trucking companies.

Drewry suffered severe traumatic brain injuries, along with extensive damage to his spine, bones and internal organs, according to the firm.

Drewry, a Louisiana native who joined the Louisiana National Guard at age 18 and served on two deployments, was working on an oil rig in New Mexico when the collision occurred. He had planned to return home for Thanksgiving.

“The defense’s first pretrial offer of $100,000 did not come close to acknowledging the harm Austin suffered or the care he will need,” James Tawney, a partner at Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro, said in a statement.

Court records reviewed by FreightWaves confirm that the lawsuit, Austin Drewry Jackson et al. v. Pilot Thomas Logistics LLC et al., was filed April 26, 2024, under Case No. D-117-CV-2024-00161.

The case was heard before District Judge Francis J. Mathew. Jury selection began Oct. 5, and the court docket lists a special verdict form filed Oct. 13.

The court also granted a motion Oct. 7 dismissing claims against truck driver Marcos Alejandro Romero in his individual capacity, with prejudice. The case proceeded against the corporate defendants.

The docket shows that the defendants filed motions Oct. 9 challenging the plaintiffs’ claims involving punitive damages, direct negligence, proximate cause and loss of consortium.

The publicly available docket does not specify how the $47 million verdict was allocated among damages categories or whether punitive damages were included.

As of Oct. 19, the docket did not list a separately entered final judgment or notice of appeal.

Why it matters: The New Mexico verdict highlights the potentially enormous financial exposure facing trucking companies in injury lawsuits.