Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

Since the horrific crash last summer involving comedian Tracy Morgan and his entourage and a truck driven by Wal-Mart, we have written a number of posts on trucking accidents and what you can do to help your attorney in resolving a case. After all, helping people get compensated for their injuries and losses after a truck accident is why we are in business. So we are proud when we see people receive their due in the face of negligent actions.

Such is the case with the children of the late James “Jimmy Mack” McNair. He was killed in the accident. According to a recent ABC News.com report, Wal-Mart has reached a settlement with McNair’s heirs where the retailer will pay $10 million to his two children. Normally, these settlements are confidential, but the figure was disclosed as part of papers filed in Surrogate’s Court in Westchester County, which was where McNair lived before the crash. 

McNair’s two children are ages 26 and 19, respectively and are reportedly putting part of the settlement towards annuities that will pay increasing monthly amounts over time for the rest of their lives, beginning at $3000 per month.

After being in an accident involving a semi-truck, it is likely that you just want to thank your lucky stars that you are able to walk away from the accident without losing your life. After all, semi-trucks are the largest and most dangerous vehicles on the road, and they can weigh as much as 40,000 tons. So being in a crash with one of these vehicles does not bode well for someone in a passenger car.

Nevertheless, these crashes happen. And if you are going to meet with a personal injury attorney to handle your case, there are several things you want to have to prepare for an initial meeting. This post will highlight a few of them. 

Personal details about you – Of course, you lawyer will want to know some basic things about you, including who you work for, whether you have missed time from work, whether you have auto or health insurance and whether you had previously been in an accident.

The trucking industry is arguably suffering with the weather that is affecting the northeast. There are reports of trucking accidents throughout the region, mainly due to snowy and icy roads. It suggests that there are sometimes instances where drivers, despite their efforts to use reasonable care, can be involved in accidents.

Unfortunately, there are instances where reasonable care should have been used, and the lack of it results in an accident. In these instances, it is helpful when an offending party takes responsibility and moves to settle a lawsuit. This apparently was the case with the lawsuit stemming from a crash last summer involving a Wal-Mart truck.

The truck crashed into a limousine bus carrying comedian Tracy Morgan and his entourage. Morgan and several others were seriously injured, and fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair was killed. After a lawsuit was filed, Wal-Mart initially claimed that it was not liable for the injuries suffered because the people in the limousine were not wearing their seatbelts.

It may go without saying that driving in upstate New York can be difficult during this time of year. After all, we recently posted on how ice missiles that come off a semi truck’s trailer are hardly friendly to drivers following behind them. But snow covered hazards are probably the least of a driver’s worries. It is whether a truck driver is too sleepy to be behind the wheel.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, fatigued driving has been a problem for commercial drivers and individuals alike. 

Fatigue is a culprit in more than 100,000 crashes each year, and it is believed that drowsy driving is underreported. This is likely the reason why federal regulators implemented hours of service rules, so that the public may benefit from not having so many tired drivers on the road, which would ostensibly limit the number of accidents due to fatigue.

It’s no secret that drivers sometimes feel like their cars are fortresses; almost like they are in their own little world within their steel frame and four wheels. Indeed, cars are not necessarily rolling fortresses, with small peepholes to greet people who come forward. However, when snow and ice collect on windshields and windows, some drivers, in their haste to get from Point A to Point B, they may only scrape of just enough space to see the road ahead.

Of course, this practice, called “peephole driving” should be viewed as clear negligence (pardon the pun). There is much more to see than what a driver can see through a letterbox view due to snow and ice. For instance, the surrounding sides and rear of a vehicle may not be seen without debris being properly cleared. As such, a driver may not see hazards (such as another car) before it is too late. 

From a legal standpoint, drivers in upstate New York have a duty to use reasonable care while operating a motor vehicle. A part of this involves clearing off one’s vehicle so that they may properly see out of all windows. If such a failure is found to be the proximate cause in an accident, the offending driver could be held liable for the ensuing injuries and property damage.

If you live in upstate New York, driving in the snow is a part of life during the winter months. Of course, being able to navigate snowy roads is important, and knowing how to avoid accidents on icy roads is also critical. Nevertheless, the following post on ice missiles is something that every winter driver should be aware of.

No, we are not talking about some weapon that “Mr. Freeze” would be conjuring up to terrorize citizens of Gotham City. Instead, we refer to the pieces of snow and ice that may remain on the tops of semi trucks and trailers. And when a truck goes down the freeway after not having a trailer cleaned off, pieces of snow and ice may fly off and into the windshields of cars following such vehicles. 

An ice missile may not penetrate a car’s windshield, but it may create a blinding blanket of ice that may severely restrict a driver’s ability to see. This may also lead to an accident.

Depending on whom you ask, this week is arguably the height of the holiday shopping season. The frenzy of Black Friday is a distant memory, and the last minute shoppers have not graced the entrance of a shopping mall. Meanwhile trucks carrying merchandise are travelling across the state of New York to keep stores stocked in anticipation of end-of-year sales.

It is no secret that the recent stretch of good weather will be coming to an end. With so many trucks on the road, drivers must be vigilant in order to avoid being in an accident when conditions deteriorate. With that, we offer the following tips through this post.

Stay out of a truck’s blind spots – If you haven’t heard (or seen) warnings about a truck’s “no-zones,” you should be familiar with them. Because of the size of a truck’s trailer, there are significant blind spots, and you do not want to be in them.

Trucks have always been dangerous on the road. And really, any vehicle has the potential to be dangerous — but with trucks, the threat is more unique than other vehicles. They are so big and powerful, not to mention a bit hard to control, that when they are involved in a wreck, the results are usually disastrous.

Here’s the kicker: the number of fatal truck accidents in the United States has been increasing at an alarming rate, and few people seem to be taking notice. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the number of fatal truck accidents increased by 18 percent from 2009 to 2012. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTHSA) piles more misery on top of that stat, noting that 3,921 people died and 104,000 people were injured in truck accidents in 2012.

But these shocking stats don’t entirely capture the truly disturbing part about this rise in fatal trucking accidents: other motor vehicle accident factors have been in decline.

The news has certainly made the rounds that noted actor and comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in a very serious trucking accident last month, but it has only recently been announced that Morgan and two others injured in the crash have filed a lawsuit against the owner of the truck: Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Morgan and his fellow plaintiffs allege that the national retail chain was partially responsible for the crash by sending out a driver that it should have known was fatigued. In addition to their request for regular damages, Morgan, his assistant and another comedian are also asking for punitive damages.

While the accident did not happen in New York, this story serves as an important reminder that it is not just the individual truck driver who can be responsible in a trucking accident. If there is any indication that the owner of the vehicle or the trucker’s employer was negligent, they can also be held liable. In cases such as these, adding other responsible parties to the lawsuit may be the only way to truly be compensated for just such an accident. If the trucker’s insurance cannot cover all of the damages, Walmart certainly will be able to.

The lawsuit claims that Walmart should have known that the driver they were sending out was tired, as it had requested a Georgia driver to drive to Delaware before even starting his shift. Before he even started driving the Walmart truck, the driver had to drive more than 11 hours; it is no wonder that he was fatigued.

There are many people in Syracuse who will work while tired. For most jobs, this isn’t a problem, but for some jobs, being tired can cause some very serious complications. No one wants, for example, a tired surgeon. One career that is particularly susceptible to fatigue is truck driving. It is also one position in which being tired is very dangerous.

Congress and the federal government recognize this and there are a number of rules in place to limit trucker fatigue. Just last year, the government mandated that truckers must take 34 hours off before starting a 70-hour work week. Moreover, the rules require the drivers to have two nights or rest each week. While studies have shown that this time off does a better job of reducing fatigue and increasing alertness, there are trucking companies and truckers who are fighting the regulations.

While it makes sense that truckers would want their flexibility when it comes to when they can work, they are not the only ones on the road. When they drive while tired, they are not just putting their lives at risk, but everyone’s on the road. They can cause extremely serious trucking accidents, severe injuries and death.