Jernigan v. Giard

We deal with a malpractice action against an attorney that arises out of the following underlying facts. D. Shane Jemigan, fifteen years old, died when a tractor trailer he was driving went off the New York State Thruway and overturned. Matuszko Farms Trucking, Inc. (Matuszko), an Amherst, Massachusetts, trucking firm, shipped a load of plywood to western New York from Amherst in a tractor trailer operated by Paul Siano, a Matuszko employee. Siano allowed the deceased to accompany him on that trip and, at the youth’s urging, Siano permitted the unlicensed minor to operate the vehicle.

The…