Posts Tagged ‘truck’
Friday, July 11th, 2008
Reporter Bill Miller with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that one person has died and two others were injured early Friday afternoon in a fiery wreck involving a small car and two large rigs, including a tanker, on westbound NE Loop 820. Police, firefighters and ambulance crews responded to the wreck, which was reported at 12:44 p.m. near the loop’s intersection with Blue Mound Road, officials said. Initial police reports stated that a person in a small car was killed. Two people were being taken to Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, a dispatcher for MedStar Ambulance Service said at 1:40 p.m. Lt. Paul Henderson, police spokesman, said he was told that a cement truck and the tanker were covered in flames.
Police said the cement truck might have lost control and slammed into stopped traffic, killing the driver of a small car. The cement truck’s exterior fuel tanks may have ruptured as the truck slid alongside a tanker truck that was in front of the car, police said.
Tags: truck
Posted in Trucking Accidents | Comments Off
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
LBJ Freeway was shut down in both directions near Plano Road after a fiery and fatal crash Sunday morning. Three vehicles — including an 18-wheeler and a pickup truck — collided in the eastbound lanes of of the highway just east of Plano Road at 7:35 a.m. All three vehicles caught fire. There were still massive backups on LBJ Freeway on Sunday afternoon, more than six hours after the incident.
Also from wfaa.com regarding that same wreck:
A 22-year-old woman was killed after she was hit by a car while trying to take pictures of a three-vehicle accident on LBJ Freeway early Sunday. April Sterling, of Dallas, and her friend were heading west on LBJ Freeway near Plano Road when they stopped so she could take pictures of the accident that occurred about 7:45 a.m., said Dallas police Sgt. Gil Cerda.
Ms. Sterling wanted to get closer to the accident scene so she ran into the HOV lane when a vehicle traveling west struck her, throwing her into the eastbound lanes of the freeway. She was taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital where she died from her injuries.
The three-vehicle accident shut down both sides of LBJ Freeway for several hours. Police said a tractor-trailer was heading east on the freeway and driving over a hill when he locked his brakes to avoid hitting two trucks parked on the freeway’s shoulder. The tractor-trailer crashed into the two pickups, causing all three vehicles to burst into flames. One driver was taken to an area hospital. That driver’s condition was unknown Sunday evening. Sgt. Cerda said the tractor-trailer driver faces a misdemeanor charge of faulty evasion action.
Tags: accident, Dallas, lawyer, lawyers, truck, truck accident, truck wreck, trucking accident
Posted in Trucking Accidents | No Comments »
Monday, April 21st, 2008
A man rented a U-Haul truck to help his daughter move. While getting out of the rear of the truck, the 6-ton truck rolled over the man and left him a paraplegic. 14 surgeries later, he still requires around-the-clock care.
He filed a lawsuit against U-Haul, alleging negligence for renting out a truck that was not roadworthy with faulty emergency brake and worn-down gears. A Dallas County jury last Friday found U-Haul liable and awarded the plaintiffs $87 million.
U-Haul says it plans to aggressively appeal the verdict. It issued a statement that this verdict “is another example of abuse of the legal system against corporate citizens in America.”
Shame on U-Haul. There has never been a more corporate-friendly time in our justice system than right now. Big Business has lobbied to change the laws in their favor, they’ve plowed thousands of dollars into electing judges who are favor corporations over consumers, and they’re benefiting from a 20-year media campaign to vilify victims and their lawyers and poison the jury pool against plaintiffs.
The fact that a Dallas County jury hit them hard tells me that the evidence was truly damning, but U-Haul will no doubt string this out in the appellate system for years to come.
Tags: Dallas, Jury, lawyer, truck
Posted in corporate negligence, personal injury, truck accident | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008
Wonders never cease.
CNN is reporting that a former Wal-Mart employee who suffered severe brain damage in a traffic accident won’t have to pay back the company for the cost of her medical care, Wal-Mart told the family Tuesday.
Eight years ago, Debbie Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart’s health and benefits plan.
After a tractor-trailer slammed into her minivan, the 52-year-old mother of three lost much of her short-term memory and was confined to a wheelchair. She now lives in a nursing home.
Wal-Mart’s health care plan lets the retail giant recoup the cost of its expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit. And Wal-Mart set out to do just that after Shank and her husband, Jim, won $1 million after suing the trucking company involved in the wreck. After legal fees, the couple received $417,000.
Wal-Mart sued the Shanks to recoup $470,000 it paid for her medical care. However, a court ruled that the company could only recoup about $275,000 — the amount that was left in a trust fund for her care.
The Shanks appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the court declined in March to hear the case. CNN told the couple’s story last week, prompting thousands of angry blog responses and at least two online petitions to boycott the company.
On Tuesday, Wal-Mart said in a letter to Jim Shank that it is modifying its health care plan to allow “more discretion” in individual cases.
“We wanted you to know that Wal-Mart will not seek any reimbursement for the money already spent on Ms. Shank’s care, and we will work with you to ensure the remaining amounts in the trust can be used for her ongoing care,” Curran said.
“We are sorry for any additional stress this uncertainty has placed on you and your family.”
On a related note, Keith Olbermann excoriates Wal-Mart here.
Tags: truck, truck accident, truck wreck
Posted in Trucking Accidents, workplace safety | 1 Comment »
Monday, February 11th, 2008
A Tennessee minister, his wife and their two children died when an 18-wheeler hit their van as they were driving to help families devastated by last week’s tornadoes in that state. Michael Welch, wife Julie, 11-year old daughter Hannah and 14-year old son Jesse died when a Wal-Mart truck slammed into the back of their van and pushed it into the car in front of them. Criminal charges are pending against the Wal-Mart driver.
In an interview just a few hours prior to his death, Rev. Welch said of his and other ministers’ efforts to comfort families affected by the tornadoes, “We cling to God, because He’s all we’ve got.”
Amen.
Tags: truck, truck wreck, trucking accident
Posted in truck accident | Comments Off
