Guardrail Maker’s Secret Changes Defrauded Government
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Trinity Industries Inc. duped the U.S. government by hiding changes to its guardrail systems, a jury found, exposing the company to $1 billion in liability and sending shares plummeting at a time when several states are scrutinizing the safety of the company's products.
The verdict comes as scrutiny of Trinity’s ET-Plus device intensifies across the country after it’s been blamed for multiple deaths. The Federal Highway Administration this month asked all states to start submitting information on crashes involving the ET-Plus to the agency’s safety office.