Trucking Accident Attorney Blog

The National Transportation Safety Board will release its final report in a deadly trucking accident that happened last year on the Will Rogers Turnpike near Miami, Oklahoma.

In June of 2009, Donald Creed, 76, was driving a semi that crashed into several parked cars and caused a chain reaction that killed 10 people. Investigators told the National Transportation Board Tuesday that Creed was most likely suffering from acute fatigue. He had had only five hours of sleep before starting his workday, and when the accident occurred, he had been driving for more than 10 hours. Creed also suffers from sleep apnea, a condition that causes abnormal pauses in breathing and can prevent restful sleep.

Traffic had stopped on the turnpike due to another minor collision. Other drivers saw the traffic and slowed, but Creed did not. Investigators noted that there was no evidence that Creed tried to brake or take any evasive action from hitting the vehicles. He was not speeding or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Creed pleaded guilty to 10 counts of negligent homicide and was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 10 years probation.

Fatigue has been a serious problem in the trucking profession for many years; the board estimates that 31 percent of all heavy truck accidents are due to driver fatigue. It is discussing the possibility of fatigue management and education for commercial drivers and their companies. In addition, the board is developing a model risk management program that it expects to be ready in two years’ time. There currently are no plans to require trucking companies to adopt the program, however.

NTSB leaders also are examining increased safety standards for heavy commercial vehicles and are looking at the benefits of "under-ride" protection for tractor-trailers. This could help absorb impact during a collision with a passenger vehicle.

The investigators also would like to see drivers screened for sleep apnea. While having the condition is not unsafe, the drivers need to make sure they are getting the proper treatment for this condition.

NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman says she wants to increase survivability for people inside passenger vehicles, and that means increasing safety standards.

As a Missouri semi truck crash attorney, I was happy to read that fatal accidents are on the decline, and I hope that this trend continues. According to the Kansas City Fox affiliate, the Missouri Department of Transportation says deadly crashes involving semi trucks have decreased by almost half since 2005, from 173 to 88. MoDOT released a report about the decrease in fatal semi truck accidents in honor of National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Sept. 19 through 25.

MoDOT cites several reasons for this decline. Some of the credit belongs to MoDOT itself for engineering efforts like visibility improvements and rumble stripes that keep drivers in their own lanes. Fatal crashes caused by lane departure fell by more than half in the period under study -- from 136 to 62. Even more promising, there was a particularly steep decline in fatal crashes caused when a vehicle crosses the median of a divided highway and veers into oncoming traffic. Those crashes declined by 85 percent, from 20 to 3.

MoDOT pointed to several other factors that helped to reduce fatal semi truck crashes. Because of the bad economy, both passenger cars and commercial trucks are traveling slightly less. Fewer cars on the road means fewer accidents. And when accidents do occur, emergency response personnel are doing a better job of responding to them. MoDOT says emergency response time has improved in both Kansas City and St. Louis. Tom Crawford, president of the Missouri Trucking Association, added that some of the credit also belongs to professional truck drivers who practice defensive driving and pay attention.

Unfortunately, as a St. Louis tractor-trailer accident lawyer, I know that not all truck drivers are as careful as the ones Crawford describes. From the Large Truck Crash Causation Study carried out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, we know that many fatal accidents involving tractor-trailers result from unsafe and illegal behaviors by truck drivers. Aggressive driving, speeding, tailgating, illegal turns and other maneuvers, and even alcohol use, were involved in many of the accidents under study. Laws and regulations governing how truckers drive and maintenance of their rigs are meant to keep everyone on the road safe. Sadly, some unscrupulous trucking companies and their employees can see laws and regulations as impediments to their profits, and ignore as many of them as they can get away with -- sometimes with tragic results.

In my work with victims of accidents caused by negligent truck drivers, I have seen many families devastated by the physical, emotional, and financial costs of these accidents. Medical costs, funeral costs, replacement of destroyed property such as the family car, and lost income can add up quickly. These financial costs are on top of the physical, emotional and psychological injuries that can come from crashes involving large trucks. Family relationships are often strained by the chaos that can result from the injury or death of a loved one and the stress of long-term medical treatment.

Continue reading "MoDOT Report Says Fatal Tractor-Trailer Crashes Are Declining in Missouri" »

Trucking accidents are a cause for much alarm, both on the part of drivers and pedestrians. Every year, there are numerous reported accidents and deaths involving large trucks. A total of 4,808 people died, and another 84,000 suffered injuries from accidents involving large trucks in 2007 alone. In the same year, 802 truck drivers died while on the job.

On August 19, a Thursday, a semitrailer tractor truck driver was killed after he crashed into two other vehicles on U.S. Interstate 57. The driver was 52-year-old Frederick Conlon from Lisben, Ohio. He was pronounced dead at 7:20 pm. The autopsy reports reveal that his death was caused by multiple injuries from the crash.

The accident happened around 5 p.m. on U.S. Interstate 57 in Illinois, half a mile away from the city of Kankakee. It was the second vehicular accident involving a large truck to occur on Interstate 57 within 24 hours.

The master sergeant of Illinois State Police District 5 reported that all three vehicles were driving northward. The third truck rear-ended the second truck, which consequently crashed into the first truck. Conlon was the driver of the third semi. The driver of the second truck received treatment and subsequently was discharged at the scene while the driver of the first semi did not sustain any injuries.

Earlier that same day, there was another fatal crash that involved two tractor-trailers and a subsequent fire between Monee and Peotone in Illinois. It was reported that the driver of that trailer truck slammed into the second truck’s rear end. He was killed at about 9 a.m. that morning.

The two separate accidents not only occurred on the same day and the same interstate, but both involved trailer trucks. Truck drivers, as well as pedestrians, should take truck safety seriously. Following basic safety rules could save a life or prevent tragic consequences.

Twenty-six people were injured in a Missouri highway crash involving 18 vehicles, including a semi truck that rear-ended traffic stopped because of thick smoke. A Missouri Highway Patrol officer said that the accident would have been even worse if a second semi truck's driver had not stopped in time to avoid crashing into the other cars. As a Missouri 18-wheeler collision attorney, I commend the driver who was able to avoid worsening an already terrible accident, and I hope that those who were injured recover quickly and easily.

According to KAIT-8, a Jonesboro, Ark., ABC affiliate, the crash occurred in Stoddard County, Mo., near Essex, around noon on Sept. 6. A farmer had been burning trash near some equipment and accidentally caught a field on fire. The thick smoke from the fire left some drivers on nearby U.S. 60 unable to see the road in front of them. Several cars came to a stop as drivers attempted to cope with the smoke, and other vehicles crashed into the motionless cars. A semi truck was among the vehicles that rear-ended the stopped traffic. A second semi truck driver braked hard to avoid the 18-vehicle pileup. Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dale Moreland said that the truck driver “did an excellent job of controlling his truck, maintained it in his lane… [There were] several feet of skid marks, but he stopped before he got to them.”

Four of the 26 injured people suffered serious injuries: Jaclyn King, 18, of Poplar Bluff; Melissa Reeser of St. Louis; and Jackie Chamness, 51, and Lana Chamness, 61, both of Creal Springs. Among the others injured, one victim was as young as three years old. At least two people were airlifted to hospitals in Cape Girardeau and Memphis, and many others were transported by ambulance.

In my view as a St. Louis semi trailer crash lawyer, the only good news about this crash is that seven people involved in it managed to escape injury and that no one was killed. Police had not yet assigned fault in this accident at the time of the news report, but pile-up accidents like this often involve drivers who are following too closely and not paying enough attention to the traffic ahead of them. This is dangerous behavior for any driver, but for semi truck drivers, it’s much more so. Because large trucks weigh so much more than passenger cars, they can do much more damage than would result from a collision of two sedans. That means collisions involving semi trucks often result in grave injuries and death. The detailed regulations for truck drivers that govern their driving habits, the maintenance of their vehicles, and even their mental alertness, are part of state and federal governments’ efforts to keep all drivers on the road safe. Unfortunately, some truck drivers and trucking companies ignore these safety rules for convenience or profit, putting people’s lives at risk.

Continue reading "26 Injured, Four Seriously, in Missouri Pileup Including Truck That Failed to Stop " »

We've all seen those signs — usually around construction sites — warning of overhead power lines. Well, the folks at the Yahnundasis Golf Club and the surrounding area in the upstate New York community of New Hartford found out what happens when someone forgets about those overhead lines. It wasn't a construction site, and the lines weren't marked, but after a logging truck driver had put some logs on his truck in the golf club's parking lot, he apparently forgot to put his crane down before he drove away.

As he drove out of the lot, the extended crane caught on some power and television cable lines. The truck pulled on the lines until one of the utility poles snapped, bringing the power lines down on the truck. Police and fire personnel were needed to direct traffic at eight nearby intersections that lost power to their traffic lights. Nearby residences and businesses also lost power. The power company managed to get things fixed after about 45 minutes.

Thankfully, no one was hurt during the trucking incident, but the driver, 32-year-old David Uebele, was very lucky. He was also very forgetful. Forgetting to put the crane on his truck down before driving away was just the beginning. He also forgot that if there are downed power lines on or around your vehicle, you're supposed to stay in your vehicle to avoid electrocution. He jumped out of his truck when he realized it had been covered by the power lines. Thankfully, he did so without injury. But the biggest lapse of memory by Uebele seems to have been the fact that he forgot that his license had been suspended!

The police reminded him of this fact and ticketed him for driving with a suspended license and for driving a vehicle with excessive height. He is set to appear in court on October 7th. (Hope he doesn't forget!)

St. Louis-based Carey, Danis & Lowe announces $1.05 million award in
A man who was injured when his pickup truck was struck by two different tractor-trailers on a rain-slick highway was awarded $1.05 million by a federal jury in Indiana on Aug. 27. The motorist was represented by attorneys Jeffrey J. Lowe and Andrew Cross of St. Louis-based Carey, Danis & Lowe.

“Even though the driver was initially able to walk away from the accident, he still suffered permanent injuries as a result of absorbing the force of crashes with not one but two tractor-trailers”

On November 15, 2005, a 42-year-old man was driving a pickup truck on Interstate 70 near Richmond, Ind. A CR England tractor-trailer hydroplaned, crossed the center line of the highway, and hit the rear of the pickup truck. The collision spun the pickup, which was then broadsided by a Crete Carrier semi.

The pickup driver was taken to Reid Hospital but released two hours later. He did not receive any additional medical treatment until 15 days after the accident. Eventually the pickup driver was found to have sustained a mild traumatic brain injury with some cognitive permanence, disc herniation in his cervical spine requiring a two-level fusion and damage to his knee cartilage.

In a personal injury lawsuit filed against CR England and Crete Carrier Corp., the pickup driver alleged that the tractor-trailer drivers were negligently speeding and failed to follow at a safe distance.

The case, Amari v. CR England, et al., cause no. 07-CV-1616, went to trial in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Indiana. On Aug. 27, a federal jury awarded the pickup driver $1,050,000.

“Even though the driver was initially able to walk away from the accident, he still suffered permanent injuries as a result of absorbing the force of crashes with not one but two tractor-trailers,” explains attorney Jeffrey J. Lowe. “The jury properly recognized that it can sometimes take a while to recognize and diagnose serious internal injuries.”

Carey, Danis & Lowe, based in St. Louis, handles personal injury, pharmaceutical liability, product liability, medical malpractice, class actions, and commercial cases throughout the United States. For more information, contact Jeff Lowe at 314-725-7700

Some clean-up jobs are tougher than others. When BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig platform exploded and sank, leaking untold millions of gallons of oil and gas into the Gulf of Mexico over almost three months this summer before being capped and closed, the world saw what can happen when certain technologies get ahead of other technologies. We had learned how to drill for oil at great depths, but apparently had made very little progress in our ability to respond to a crisis in that environment.

A much more common clean-up job happens on our roadways every day when, for one reason or another, a train or truck accident necessitates the clean-up of a spill or the draining or siphoning-off of some of its cargo or fuel. Usually, it's pretty straightforward, though the clean-up procedure depends on what's being carried or what's been spilled.

Recently, in southeast Texas, the clean-up crew had to face an unusually tough situation. On a Sunday morning in Jefferson County, Texas, on Interstate 10, a pickup truck collided with a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of isobutane. Isobutane is flammable and, in confined spaces, can kill if inhaled in enough quantity. The tanker truck overturned and its driver suffered minor injuries to his legs. Both the driver and passenger in the pickup truck were unharmed.

But because of the truck's cargo, the interstate was closed in both directions until Wednesday while the hazardous material crew worked to remove the dangerous liquid. A subdivision was evacuated and a Red Cross shelter set up, but as of Monday people were allowed to return to their homes.

The crew had never before performed the necessary procedure to empty the truck. They had to inject the truck's tank with hot nitrogen in order to turn the isobutane liquid into a gas. They were then able to flare off the gas.

It was a long process, and rain further complicated their efforts. The road remained closed until Wednesday, when it was finally safe to have the truck towed from the scene. But unlike the Deepwater Horizon debacle, no one here was seriously hurt, and the environment was not seriously affected.

Two recent pileup accidents involving semi trucks snarled traffic for eight hours on Interstate 80 in Illinois. As a southern Illinois tractor trailer crash attorney, I frequently read about accidents like this, and I was especially sad to read that one of these accidents resulted in very serious injuries to a 13-year-old girl and her father. Such accidents should remind all of us of the need to be careful while driving, but people who drive large, heavy trucks have a special responsibility to exercise caution, since their vehicles can do so much more damage than a passenger car can.

At 2:10 p.m. on August 10, the first accident occurred when one semi truck hit another near Utica, Ill. Karolis Bogusas, 28, of Elmhurst, was driving a tractor-trailer that became disabled, so he pulled onto the shoulder. Then, another tractor-trailer driven by Kevin G. Haeffner, 38, of Lincoln, Neb., struck Bogusas's truck and jackknifed. Haeffner's trailer was full of packaged raw beef, which spilled out across the Interstate as the trailer was smashed open by the collision. Haeffner was taken to Ottawa Regional Hospital, treated, and released. Meanwhile, the mess created by that accident left traffic nearly at a standstill.

Just 20 minutes after the first crash and a mile away, another crash occurred, this one with even worse results. Rex Davis, 50, of Montpelier, was driving another semi truck that he plowed into several cars ahead of him, tossing them aside to the center median. The tractor-trailer stopped atop a Pontiac Grand Am, crushing the car flat with 37-year-old Thomas Bolin and 13-year-old Corren Bolin, of Princeton, inside. The father and daughter were severely injured, but thankfully they were not killed. It took rescuers about an hour to extricate the two of them from their flattened car. Then, Corren was rushed to Illinois Valley Community Hospital in Peru, Ill. Her father was airlifted to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where Corren was later airlifted. After emergency treatment and surgery, both were listed in critical condition.

News reports about the accident said that the state police were investigating the two crashes and that no citations had been issued as of press time. Even as the investigation goes on, the data presented in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Large Truck Crash Causation Study helps us to think about what could have caused these crashes and how to prevent them in the future. This study found that 29% of fatal crashes in which truck drivers were at fault were attributed to driver distraction and inattention; 23% of truck drivers in the crashes under study were speeding; 9% had made illegal maneuvers; 7% were driving aggressively, 5% were following too closely, and 1% had used alcohol.

Sadly, any error a truck driver makes can have terrible consequences for drivers of smaller vehicles, which cannot protect their passengers from the tremendous force of large, heavy tractor-trailers. That's why there are important rules that truckers are legally required to follow, such as restrictions on the number of hours they can drive before having a rest period, or inspecting the condition of their trucks before setting out on each day's drive. Failure to respect and abide by these rules is not just illegal -- it also puts innocent people's lives at risk, as the study demonstrates.

As a Missouri 18-wheeler crash attorney, I emphasize preventing accidents by being careful on the roads. But when truckers ignore regulations and common sense, that's called negligence. If their negligence causes innocent victims, such as the people in a nearby car, to get hurt or killed in an accident, the victims and their families can hold them legally accountable. Victims hurt in accidents with large trucks often sustain serious injuries that are very expensive to treat and that significantly disrupt their lives. The costs for those injuries and disruptions should come out of the pockets of those who are responsible for their injuries -- the truck driver, his or her employer, and their insurance companies.

Continue reading "Teenage Girl and Her Father Airlifted to Hospital After Semi Truck Accident" »