Austin Personal Injury Lawyer - Tractor-Trailer Accidents

More On Work Zone Safety

Brooks Schuelke — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:40:35 GMT

I missed the boat. Yesterday, I wrote about the horrific tractor trailer crash near Gainesville, Texas. The wreck, which killed a Bedford, Texas couple and a Louisiana man, occurred near a work zone where traffic was backing up.

In that post, I mentioned the Texas Transportation Institute's National Work Zone Safety Clearinghouse. I should have posted a link to the clearinghouse because it is a wealth of information. In any event, the clearinghouse can be found here.

The website is an almost limitless source of information about construction zone wrecks. For example, I was able to ascertain from the databases linked to the website that in 2007, Texas had 36 fatal trucking wrecks in work zones. That was just over 17% of the nation's total. In 2006, Texas had 41 fatal trucking wrecks in work zones, or just over 15% of the nation's total. In 2005, Texas had 40 fatal trucking wrecks in work zones, or just under 14% of the nation's total. From that, it looks like the safety in work zones is improving, but Texas is not improving as much as the rest of the country.

The website obviously has a lot of information designed to improve the safety of construction zones. For example, it contains driving tips, offers training, and has a library of videos about work zone safety issues.

If you have any interest in work zone safety issues, you should check out the website.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

Lessons From A Tractor-Trailer Crash -- Be Careful In Construction Zones

Brooks Schuelke — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:27:15 GMT

Yesterday, a horrific tractor-trailer wreck occurred in North Texas when an eighteen wheeler slammed into the back of traffic stopped on Interstate 35 near the Texas-Oklahoma border. Tragically, three people (Anthony and Kimberly Brandon of Bedford, Texas and Darryl Hoosier of La.) were killed in the wreck. The Brandon's vehicle exploded on impact. Mr. Hoosier was killed as the eighteen wheeler, driven by James Crayton, of Dallas, pushed Mr. Hoosier's vehicle into another tractor-trailer that was in front of Mr. Hoosier.

What lessons can we learn from this? The Cooke County Sheriff investigating the case noted that this is the second fatal collision at this construction zone this month. And the wreck is not unique. Auto accidents in construction zones are becoming more and more frequent, and are killing more motorists. It is critical that people are aware of the risks and start paying attention. As the Texas Department of Transportation says:

Just why are there so many wrecks? Speeding is one reason. However, our contractors and maintenance crews say people not paying attention to their driving is probably the biggest reason for wrecks. Situations and circumstances are always changing in work zones. Lanes narrow and traffic often slows down to much lower speeds. In fact, one out of every three work zone wrecks involve rear-ended crashes. There's a good chance you'll run across a construction zone the next time you hit the highway. Remember to slow down, pay attention, and give some space to the car in front of you.

Given the facts of this wreck, it's clear to me that the driver of the tractor-trailer was distracted by something; you don't just hit someone full speed if you're paying attention to the roadway. This is speculation on my part, but from working trucking cases, I'm guessing the driver was either over-worked or using a cell phone, for talking or texting.

Whatever the cause of the wreck, I hope the families involved find some peace somewhere. These are the types of tragedies that should never occur.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

When is a company liable for a wreck caused by its employee?

Brooks Schuelke — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:43:01 GMT

This question came up on another part of the Injuryboard site today, and I wanted to try and answer the question for others. In Texas, there are several situations where a company is liable for a wreck caused by its employee.

The hardest to pronounce, but easiest to prove, is respondeat superior. In Texas, an employer is liable for injuries caused by its employee when the wreck happens while the employee is in the course and scope of his employment. That’s it. Not a hard standard to meet. There are a bunch of cases debating the fringes of what course and scope includes (driving to or from work; employee detours from his business driving to conduct a personal errand; etc.), but other than the fringes, this is a pretty easy question and the easiest way to establish liability. As an aside, if the employee is in a company owned car, then there’s a presumption that he was acting in the course and scope of his employment while the employee was performing his job and while the employee was driving to and from work.

In addition to the respondeat superior claim where an employer is liable for the conduct of its employees, there are also important related claims where the employer may be liable for its own conduct. The first instance of that is negligent entrustment. Under that theory, an employer can be liable for entrusting a vehicle to an employee that the employer knew or should have known was an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver. These usually occur in situations where the driver has a history of tickets, wrecks, a drinking problem, or something similar.

The next theory is negligent hiring, retention and supervision. In Texas, an employer has a duty to investigate its employees’ skills before hiring them. The claim here is similar to a negligent entrustment theory, but due to some legal technicalities, the negligent hiring, retention and supervision claims are much preferred to the negligent entrustment claims. But the same type of background check (driving records, calling previous employers, etc) is all relevant.

The last common claim is the negligent training claim. Again, in Texas, if an employer knows that a training program is necessary to protect others, but fails to exercise reasonable care in training its drivers, then the company is liable for the damage caused.

Now, one question you may ask yourself is, "If the company is already vicariously liable because the driver was driving in the course and scope of employment, why do negligent hiring or negligent entrustment or negligent training claims matter?" And the answer is punitive damages.

These additional theories are important for punitive damages for two reasons. First, when the company has a driver that it knows drives drunk, for example, then a jury will not only award punitive damages against the driver, but the jury will also likely award punitive damages against the company. The independent acts of negligence are important to give a jury more ways to award punitive damages.

But maybe more importantly is that these claims affect what evidence the jury hears. If you have a simple negligence claim where the employee driver caused the wreck and the injured person is only claiming that the employer is liable for the damages based on respondeat superior, then there are a lot of pieces of evidence not admissible. For example, if you know that the employee driver has a long history of accidents and tickets, those likely don’t get into evidence in the main part of the typical car wreck trial. But if you claim that the employer was negligent for not investigating the driver’s background and finding out about those tickets and accidents, then that becomes relevant and admissible and the jury gets to hear about it. And you can be sure that the jury hearing that type of information will make a big difference in the case. So these claims, with a claim for punitive damages, need to be pursued to help the case.

So that’s a general overview. There are other specific rules that I’m more than happy to answer if you leave a comment. There are also specific answers for trucking cases, but that might be another post.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

John Chiles Saves Man's Life in Fiery Dallas Truck Crash

Brooks Schuelke — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:24:25 GMT

Readers of this blog may not know it, but I'm a huge University of Texas fan. I went to UT for undergrad and law school. My dad played baseball at UT, my mom went to UT, and my younger brother went to UT. I have two kids who both knew the Eyes of Texas and Texas Fight by the time they were two.

Anyway, I was amazed when reading in the Austin American Statesman that John Chiles, the father of back-up University of Texas quarterback John Chiles, pulled a man out of an overturned 18-wheeler Sunday shortly before the tanker, which was carrying unleaded gasoline, exploded. You can watch a news story on the fire, including an interview with John Chiles, here.

I think the act was particularly heroic given the increasing number of stories where bystanders watch as people get run over or beat on a subway . It's nice to finally hear about someone doing the right thing.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

Bigger Trucks On The Road

Brooks Schuelke — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:56:00 GMT

Trucking dangers continue. Yesterday I posted that many truck drivers are allowed to drive even after failing drug tests. And now, the trucking lobby is seeking permission to use larger tractor-trailers. Apparently the coalition, creatively named Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation, is asking Congress to start a pilot program to experiment with larger, heavier trucks. While Texas is not yet in the proposed pilot area, the article suspects that we'll be named later.

Now I don't know about you, but I think the tractor-trailers driving down I35 through the middle of Austin are plenty big. Apparently, I'm not the only one that thinks it's a bad idea. Teamsters president Jim Hoffa had this to say:

The idea of letting bigger trucks on the road is just crazy. They're extremely dangerous and they ruin our roads and bridges, which are already in bad shape.

I can't imagine a worse time to promote this idea. Our infrastructure is falling apart and the highway fund is running out of money, and they want to allow trucks that do more damage to roads and bridges?

Joan Claybrook, the president of Public Citizen, had this to say about the safety:

Apparently, there is no limit to the trucking and shipping industries’ desire to push the bounds of common sense and what our roads and bridges can handle. Their lobbyists will have you believe that bigger trucks will mean fewer trucks … Instead, the number of trucks on U.S. highways has consistently grown during the past few decades, even after many federal and state increases in both the size and weight of large trucks.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

Truck Drivers Continue Driving After Failed Drug Tests

Brooks Schuelke — Fri, 23 May 2008 10:57:41 GMT

In a report released this week, the General Accounting Office revealed that many of the nation's truck drivers continue to drive even after failing drug tests. From a Dallas Morning News story on this truck driving danger:

Fewer than half of the estimated 85,000 truck drivers who test positive in random drug tests each year are believed to complete the required treatment and follow-up testing to return to their jobs, the GAO said. The true number of truckers who fail drug tests and continue to drive could be much higher, said an investigator with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which commissioned the GAO study.

"It raises extraordinary concerns," Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, said of the report. "We have a system of drug testing that is totally inadequate. You can easily beat the system."

Really, the report's title says it all: Motor Carrier Safety --Improvements To Drug Testing Programs Could Better Identify Illegal Drug Users And Keep Them Off The Road.

Trucking accidents are a particular concern to those of us in Texas and Austin. With NAFTA, the Texas highways continue to see more than their share of truckers. And with Interstate 35, a major NAFTA trucking route, running through the heart of downtown Austin, Austinites continue to bear more than their share of tractor-trailer accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

Texas Tractor-Trailers Fail The Test

Brooks Schuelke — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 14:44:56 GMT

Dallas police have apparently become fed up with the increase in trucking accidents. Last week, the Dallas police department conducted surprise inspections of tractor trailer rigs in the city. Unfortunately, more than 1/3 of the trucks failed the inspection tests. The failures included a truck with less than 1/2 of its brakes working, a trucker that failed to secure his load, and a trucker that didn't have a complete log of his driving hours (the number of hours a driver can drive is regulated). These failures aren't a surprise to one of the drivers. He noted:

"Right now, with fuel costs, everything being so expensive, they might shy away from safety to save a dollar or two," commented trucker Randy Gillan.

Truck safety is even more of a concern in Austin than Dallas. I-35 is one of the primary routes of trade between the United States and Mexico. As domestic traffic increases, and as more and more Mexican trucks get permission to drive on U.S. highways, the safety concerns will only increase.

Hat tip to Jeffrey Lowe at the Trucking Accident Attorney Blog for the tip to the story.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

Trucking Accident Report: Truckers Can Easily Cheat on Drug Tests(2)

Brooks Schuelke — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 15:44:06 GMT

The General Accounting Office has recently used undercover investigators to reveal how easy it is for truckers to cheat on drug tests. The report found that seventy-five percent of the drug testing locations didn't maintain secure testing areas, allowing truckers to compromise the results of drug tests. In addition, the study found numerous online masking agents that they were able to use in tests without detection.

For those of us in Austin and Central Texas, where trucking accidents appear to be more common, these results are alarming.

Thanks to Atlanta personal injury lawyer Ken Shigley for the heads up.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke

An Unusual Trucking Accident?

Brooks Schuelke — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 12:49:38 GMT

It would seem to be unusual way for a trucking accident to occur, but a new story in the Indianapolis Star reports that six people have been killed on the nation's highways this year by wheels that broke loose from semi trucks. The latest victim was a police officer that was helping another officer at a traffic stop. Particularly disconcerting is the fact that the truck driver didn't even realize he had lost the wheel that killed the officer.

Mechanical failure is not a new problem in trucking accidents. According to the story:

Mechanical failure contributes to about 10 percent of serious accidents involving tractor trailers, according to a 2006 study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Let's all hope that those increase in numbers don't lead to an increase in personal injuries.
Tire or wheel failure is one of the top three problems associated with such mechanical failures, the report stated, along with braking problems and a shift of cargo.
Wheel separation may also occur due to assembly errors, corrosion or poor installation and maintenance, according to a 1995 report from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in Canada.

I wish I had statistics for the Austin - Central Texas area, but it seems like the number of trucks that drive up and down I35 is growing exponentially.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Tractor-trailer accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Brooks Schuelke