Overpass Accident Results In Wrongful Death Suit

You’ve seen the images on social media. Some trucker strays off course and drives his vehicle directly into an overpass. In most cases, these accidents result in insurance claims for the trucking company and the driver looking for a new job. However, in one case, the incident resulted in the preventable death of a 32-year-old woman. Her parents are now suing the trucking company for wrongful death.

According to the suit, an excavator on the semi-truck struck an overpass causing a large piece of concrete to fall through the decedent’s windshield. The lawsuit accuses the truck company and their driver of operator error and ignoring the clearance for the overpass.

As far as personal injury lawsuits against trucking companies go, this is a sure thing for the plaintiffs, for all the good it will do them.

Analyzing the allegations 

The truck operator is required to know the clearance of highway overpasses. They cannot utilize roads that have overpasses where their trucks don’t fit. This is the duty of the logistics team to ensure that the route is safe. It is then the duty of the truck driver to ensure that they follow the correct route. If they don’t, serious property damage can occur and in this case, someone loses their life. The trucking company does not have much of a defense to this suit. They can’t blame the overpass or the victim for placing themselves in danger, so the only matter left to determine is damages.

What happens when the defendant has no defense? 

Well, a lot of work still goes into filing a lawsuit against a company that is dead to rights responsible for an accident. The company will likely litigate the damages as opposed to the negligence. They will try to reduce the family’s award based on the facts of the case. However, there really isn’t much room to do that when you have a wrongful death. The woman is not exaggerating her injuries. She’s not alive anymore to exaggerate or not. So, in this case, litigating damages will also not be very successful for the defense.

Then what does the defendant do? 

Typically, a defendant that is dead to rights like this one moves to quickly and quietly settle the lawsuit under seal. They don’t want the matter making waves in the paper and they don’t want the public to be reminded of what happened. Getting a settlement sealed, however, should cost the defendant money. If the defendant wants the plaintiffs to keep their mouths shut, then they have to pay for the privilege. So, we may never know what the terms of the settlement are, but they are likely to be handsome for this family. Of course, they’d rather have their daughter, but this gives you a sense of how a lawsuit like this would play out.

Talk to a Jacksonville Wrongful Death Attorney Today 

Gillette Law represents the interests of injured truck accident victims and their families following a serious accident. Call our Jacksonville personal injury lawyers today to schedule a free consultation and we can begin discussing your lawsuit immediately.

Source:

coloradosun.com/2022/09/07/parents-of-loveland-woman-file-wrongful-death-lawsuit-against-trucker-whose-load-hit-bridge-causing-crash/