Articles Tagged with Truck Accidents

It has been 10 months since a horrific accident on the New Jersey Turnpike changed several lives forever. Tracy Morgan and several members of his entourage were seriously injured when a semi-truck owned by retail giant Wal-Mart plowed into their limousine van. In addition to the injuries sustained by the parties, the crash killed one of Morgan’s closest friends, fellow comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair.

In a prior post we highlighted the settlement Wal-Mart reached with McNair’s family; essentially a $10 million settlement that will be paid in increasing increments to McNair’s surviving children as they grow older. 

Morgan filed a separate lawsuit seeking compensation for his injuries, which included multiple broken bones and a traumatic brain injury. His recovery (how slow it has become) has been well chronicled. On top of that, we have highlighted in prior posts Wal-Mart’s stance on the issue; basically that the company believes that the injuries were a result of Morgan and the other injured parties failing to wear seatbelts.

With a number of states raising speed limits in rural areas, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is becoming concerned with the speeds that semi trucks may be travelling. Mark Rosekind, who took over as administrator of the agency in December 2014, believes that the new laws could be a recipe for disaster.

He believes that many tires used on  semi trucks and trailers were not designed to travel at speeds higher than 75 miles per hour. He fears that if such tires are used at these speeds for extended periods of time, a substantial amount of heat could build up and cause them to fail. He believes that tire manufacturers never intended for tires to be driven at such high speeds, and that a blown out tire could lead to a horrific accident. 

The concerns are ostensibly linked to aninvestigation into an accident in rural New Mexico where a truck travelling above the 75 mile-per-hour speed limit blew a tire and rolled onto its side. Fortunately, no one was injured. Investigators blamed the crash on the truck owners (and not the tire manufacturers) because the tires were found to be under-inflated. However, the investigator on the matter noted that it was likely that the speed limit for the region was higher than what the tires were designed to travel.

In a number of our posts, we have highlighted the danger that semi-truck pose to motorists on the road. Since trucks are considerably larger than passenger vehicles, the chances of people in passenger cars being injured is quite high. Meanwhile, truckers are commonly not injured in these crashes.

Because of the high degree of liability, commercial truckers are required to carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance. With the rash of trucking accidents being seen over the last few years, it appears that legislators are poised to raise the minimum insurance requirement to $1 million. This has truckers up in arms. 

According to insurer Prime Property & Casualty Insurance, the change is not necessary given that so few accident claims exceed $1 million. The company reports that of the 87,000 trucking accidents reported between January 2006 and March 2012 only 166 claims eclipsed the million dollar mark.

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.