Big rigs travel the highways every day. And just about every day, one is involved in a collision that maims or kills another person on the road.
The case I wanted to talk about is one that I was made aware of while reading accident reports. While I did not handle this case, I have had cases similar to this. It just brought home the fact that there is a thin line between being safe and on the road to your next destination and being dead in the blink of an eye when a big rig rolls over. Death may visit the driver of the truck, just as easily as it can affect those around the vicinity of a semi when it crashes.
In this case, the trucker was hauling beer and was just about to merge onto a highway when he spotted a car stopped in the right lane. The driver was just sitting in the car at the time and no one knew why, aside from speculating about mechanical failure.
Unable to stop, slow down or swerve, the trucker attempted to avoid a collision, but smacked into the car, climbed an embankment and flipped over. The cab was severed from the rest of the truck and diesel fuel slopped out on the highway. The trucker was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver of the car was taken to the hospital, suffering some very serious injuries. It was several hours before the scene was cleared of debris, diesel fuel and dumped cargo.
Obviously, there would be an opportunity for the estate of the trucker to file a wrongful death lawsuit. However, the family of the car driver, or the driver himself, could also in turn file a personal injury lawsuit claiming the trucker was negligent in not watching where he was going, was perhaps speeding or maybe even driving while distracted. There are far too many possibilities to know for certain how this case may eventually turn out.
The point to be made here is that in most truck wrecks there are hundreds of details that need to be examined by a skilled Arkansas injury lawyer to determine liability, who to sue, what damages to ask of the court, which insurance companies are involved in the resulting melee and just what precisely happened to cause an accident in the first place.
Truck wrecks are not as simple and straightforward as they may seem at first blush. There are usually too many other parties with a vested interest in the outcome to think, even for a moment, that the case won’t be difficult to get to trial.
If you have been involved in a truck wreck and lived to tell the tale, speak to an experienced Arkansas injury lawyer. You should know right upfront what your legal rights are and how complex cases like this are handled.
Michael G. Smith is anArkansas personal injury lawyer and Arkansas business dispute lawyer, practicing personal injury law and veteran’s benefits in Arkansas. Learn more by visiting Arkansaslawhelp.com
