Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

According to AAA's yearly crash data analysis, fatalities from South Carolina tractor trailer crashes continued to rise in 2005 (the most recent year for which data was available). For the second consecutive year, South Carolina highway wrecks involving tractor trailers went up, from 74 to 84. As a percentage of total crashes, Union County, South Carolina led the way in terms of the highest number of deadly truck accidents. The highest total number of tractor trailer deaths happened in Jasper County in 2005, where 7 people died.

South Carolina traffic deaths (involving vehicles of all types) decreased somewhat overall, from 1,093 deaths (2004) to 1,046 deaths (2005). In 2005, vehicle drivers and passengers had the greatest chance of both being in a crash and being injured in Charleston County, compared to all other counties in South Carolina. More than 13,000 crashes took place that year in Charleston County. Thankfully, Charleston County fatalities dropped in 2005 from the previous year. The greatest chance of being involved in a fatal crash, in terms of crashes per mile driven, was in Barnwell County.

The most dangerous counties in terms of total crashes in 2005 were: Charleston County, Richland County, and Greenville County. The safest counties in this category were: Calhoun County, Fairfield County, and Lee County.

The most dangerous counties in terms of crashes causing injury in 2005 were: Charleston County, Greenwood County, and Richland County. The safest counties in this category were: Calhoun County, Jasper County, and Clarendon County.

The most dangerous counties in terms of fatal crashes in 2005 were: Barnwell County, Saluda County, and Chesterfield County. The safest counties in this category were: Allendale County, Hampton County, and Charleston County.

Continue reading "South Carolina Tractor Trailer Fatalities Continue to Increase by Double-Digit Percentages" »

Travis Fortson of Greenville, South Carolina stopped to help at a collision scene July 10, 2007, on I-85 in Cherokee County near Gaffney, South Carolina. He doesn’t remember much else after getting out of his car.

A drug-intoxicated and speeding tractor trailer driver soon came along, lost control and jackknifed, slamming into Mr. Fortson and two other bystanders. Fortson suffered terrible injuries. The damage to his right leg was so severe the doctors had to amputate. The truck crash also fractured his pelvis, shoulder blade, and eye orbit and he had most of the muscles in his right arm torn away. The other two men hit by the truck, Darrel Foster of Spartanburg, South Carolina and Duane Henley of Charlotte, North Carolina, managed to escape serious injury.

Mr. Fortson was recently released from the hospital to begin his long recovery. A married father of two young daughters, Fortson is a pharmaceutical sales representative and Citadel alumnus. By all accounts, he is an extremely positive and determined man, and his family and community have rallied around him. Considering what could have happened, he is fortunate to be home right now.

Prosecutors from the Seventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office offered some insight into the cause of the collision. The truck driver, Sherry Lynne Davis, a Greenwood, South Carolina resident, has been charged with felony DUI with great bodily injury and speeding.

At her bond hearing August 28, the deputy solicitor told the magistrate that she was under the influence of drugs at the time of the collision. The magistrate set her bond at $50,000. If she is able to post bond, she will be monitored by a GPS ankle bracelet and she cannot drive.

Thanks to Greenvillenews.com, goupstate.com, and WYFF4.com.

Continue reading "I-85 Trucker Hits Good Samaritan Helping a Motorist" »

The injured man was bicycling to work on his bicycle last February. A tractor-trailer, running late on a delivery from the Midwest, left the roadway and struck the man, sending him flying and tumbling over 100 feet from the point of impact.

The bicyclist suffered life-changing injuries: rib fractures, a tear to his liver, open (bone protruding) fractures of his lower leg, and traumatic brain injury. As a result of this terrible collision, Mr. Hill is now totally disabled and cannot work.

The driver of the truck admitted he never saw the bicyclist, claiming he never left the road. However, it seems the truck driver couldn't keep his story straight. He later said he thought he might have hit a mailbox. Although there was not direct evidence that the truck driver had fallen asleep, there was abundant evidence that he was at the very least "driving tired" - a very dangerous practice. The trucker had been driving 14.5 hours out of the last 18 hours, a clear violation of the federal safety regulations. (This is the kind of critical evidence that an attorney experienced in truck accident litigation is likely to uncover). The trucking company’s response to this collision: they offered the man’s family $2,000 - a tiny fraction of the man's medical bills, future medical care, and numerous other kinds of damages.

The injured man's family wisely retained a qualified attorney. At the conclusion of the trial, the jury decided the trucking company and driver caused $2 million in actual damages to Mr. Hill. The jury also awarded an additional $1 million in punitive damages. Hopefully, this trucking company is now convinced that its drivers need to abide by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

Continue reading "North Augusta, South Carolina Bicyclist Totally Disabled After Being Hit by Tractor Trailer - $3 Million Damages Verdict" »

Imagine that you are driving down the road, minding your own business and obeying all the traffic laws. A tractor trailer makes an illegal turn, and slams into you. You've done nothing wrong - but you have sustained horrific injuries. You will never walk again. You can no longer work. You can't earn an income. You are in excruciating pain every moment of your life. Within a matter of weeks, your medical bills total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Those medical bills continue to grow as the weeks and months pass.

As much as we don't want to think it can happen to you, let me tell you, it can happen to you.

Now, imagine that the tractor trailer has liability insurance, but that liability insurance doesn't come close to covering your losses. (After the truck driver and trucking company spend two or three years blaming you for the wreck they caused, they finally pony up). The tractor trailer's insurance only pays for just a small fraction of your medical losses. Meanwhile, the fly-by-night trucking company goes out of business. But your damages go far, far beyond just a fraction of your medical bills. What about your past lost income? Your future lost income? The rest of your medical bills? Your future medical bills? Your mental anguish and suffering? Your physical pain?

The good news is that you can do something to protect yourself against this kind of financial nightmare. You can make sure that you have plenty of your own underinsured insurance coverage. Underinsured insurance is commonly referred to as UIM.

You see, there are lots and lots of people on the roads who don't have enough liability auto insurance to cover catastrophic losses they might inflict on you. What can you do to protect yourself? You can purchase UIM coverage. Believe me, you should. UIM protects you and your family, and you should purchase as much as you reasonably can - for each and every vehicle in your household. UIM coverage can often be accessed for each covered vehicle in your household - and that's protection that you could one day need in a big, big way.

Many injured people (and the families of someone lost to a wrongful death) who come to me to represent them after a motor vehicle accident simply don't have adequate UIM coverage. The ones who do, however, sure are glad when the unthinkable happens. Enough UIM coverage can keep you from financial ruin.

In South Carolina, you can buy UIM coverage in an amount up to the amount of auto "liability" coverage you have, but no more. So, to get adequate UIM coverage, it may be necessary to pay for additional auto liability coverage, as well. Even so, I strongly recommend that you purchase as much UIM (and also UNinsured - UM) coverage as you can reasonably afford.

Continue reading "Don't Harm Yourself - Insure Yourself: Critical Insurance Coverage Everyone Should Have" »

On an icy, foggy interstate, a tractor trailer ran into a young man who had stopped his vehicle near North Platte, Nebraska. Traffic was backed up from other collisions in dense fog over an icy interstate. The young man slid into a mile marker post as he stopped. He then got out of his vehicle to help other people along the roadway, and also to check the damage to his vehicle. That is when the tractor trailer ran into the back of his vehicle at over 35 mph, also striking him. His injuries included four fractured vertebrae, fractured ribs and scapula (shoulder blade) and nerve damage to his right arm. His medical bills exceeded $230,000.

In the lawsuit that followed, the truck driver and the trucking company claimed the man contributed to the collision by not turning on his hazard lights and by getting out of his vehicle. The jury accepted this argument in part: the man received a $11,230,000 verdict that was reduced by 20% due to the man's partial negligence.

Continue reading "$11.23 Million Verdict in Nebraska Tractor Trailer Rear-End Collision" »

This unfortunate case involved a truck driver in Indiana turning left across two lanes and a median, disregarding oncoming traffic in the lane he entered. The tractor-trailer struck a driver with the right of way, flipping the smaller vehicle over and causing it to slide on its roof for nearly 150 feet. The driver of that vehicle suffered head injuries including a horrific injury to the scalp. The driver, a 79 year old father of three, was hospitalized for 28 days, slipping in and out of consciousness. His medical bills alone amounted to $131,000.00. The driver died one day after being transferred to a nursing home for additional care.

His family brought suit against the driver and the trucking company. A jury rejected the defendants’ argument that the accident was the deceased man’s fault and returned a verdict of $1,486,400 — $1,000,000 to the family for wrongful death and $486,400 for the man’s suffering over those last 30 days before he died.

Continue reading "Chicago Jury Awards $1.4 Million Dollars in Fatality Caused by Tractor Trailer" »

At about 6:45 PM Saturday evening, along I-26, near Newberry, South Carolina, an 11-year-old boy was killed, possibly after being stricken by a tractor trailer, which had come into the median. The little boy was traveling in a car with his mother and at least one sibling. (Some details have not yet been clarified). Their vehicle somehow collided with the guardrail, and came to rest in the left lane of the interstate. The mother gathered up her children, and tried to get into the median, when a pickup truck came along. The pickup truck may have knocked the 11-year-old into the median. An 18-wheeler soon came upon the scene. The tractor trailer reportedly drove into the median, where it may have stricken the boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Both the Newberry County Sheriff's Department and the South Carolina Highway Patrol reported to the scene. The Highway Patrol's Major Accident Investigation Team (M.A.I.T) will conclude its investigation and release its findings soon.

Continue reading "Truck Wreck Claims the LIfe of 11 Year Old Boy on I-26" »

Time is of the essence in every trucking case involving serious injury or death. In the aftermath of a sudden accident involving a tractor trailer, it is absolutely crucial for the attorney representing the injured person (or that person's family) to personally inspect both the truck and the trailer. Extensive photographs need to be taken. The entire truck should be thoroughly examined. Crucial evidence can often be uncovered under the seats, in the glove compartment, in the sleeper unit - anywhere in the truck. As we have talked about in the past, the trucking company and its insurance company will almost certainly have already closely inspected the truck and the trailer. Sometimes they miss things. Sometimes the things they see as important don't include all the truly important information that can be discovered during an inspection. It is crucial to determine what might have been moved or removed during the trucking company's "rapid response" inspection. You'll want to find out everyone who has been in the truck since the collision, and find out what communications equipment was in the truck at the time of the collision.

Continue reading "Truck Accident Investigations: Inspecting the Tractor and the Trailer" »

When a truck accident suddenly takes place, it is important for the injury attorney to immediately begin an investigation. There is no time to waste. Important information must be preserved, and valuable evidence must not be allowed to disappear - which can easily happen if you are not proactive. It is important to immediately secure the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of responding law enforcement officers, and any and all other witnesses. In addition, of course, it is necessary to obtain the accident report. It is also vitally important to locate and inspect the tractor trailer (we'll explore that more in a later post), and to obtain all the numbers and information on the truck door and on the trailer. This can be critical information. It is often important to employ an experienced investigator to go out and interview the witnesses right away. Accident reconstructionists will usually be retained to immediately begin the process of reconstructing the collision. An abundance of information can be gathered about the trucking company, using the internet - particularly the United States Department of Transportation's online resources. The trucking companies' own websites can often be another treasure trove of information.

Listen carefully to any attorney you may consider hiring to represent you after a truck accident. These cases are special. They require immediate action and an experienced hand. Make sure your case is being handled the right way. There is much at stake.

Continue reading "Truck Accident Investigations" »

Truck accident cases are very different from standard auto accident cases in a number of ways. And, since truck cases are so different, they have to be handled differently by the injury lawyer. Today, I want to tell you about why it is so crucial to move quickly to protect your interests after a major wreck involving an 18 wheeler or other large commercial vehicle.

Understand this: Immediately after a catastrophic accident, there is almost always a battle going on - a battle over information. This information may ultimately decide whether or not you will be fairly compensated. Put simply, information is power. The side that has an advantage in gathering information often has the upper hand. Experienced truck injury lawyers know this, and the huge trucking companies know this. After a trucking accident causes injuries or fatalities, the trucking companies know that they are facing a serious situation in terms of compensating those they have injured. In recent years, the trucking companies and their lawyers (many of whom specialize in making sure comparatively little - or no compensation is paid to injured victims) have put into place so-called "rapid response" teams.

These days, almost every major trucking company (and every major truck insurance company) has a 24-hour rapid response team which goes into motion the moment they learn of a major wreck. Within 24 hours, the trucking company and its insurer will send investigators to interview police officers and eyewitnesses. They send engineers to inspect the tractor trailers and passenger vehicles. Plus, they send accident reconstructionists to measure and survey the scene. Why is all of this done, you may ask? It is done to gather and spin information in such a way so as to limit or destroy the injured person's right to recover compensation.

Why do the trucking companies and the insurance companies spend all the money and resources to do this? Because it works, that's why.

Am I saying all is lost if you haven't hired a qualified attorney the moment a truck accident takes place? Of course not. But, to overcome the advantages that the responsible trucking company will set in motion for itself, you need to hire an experienced truck accident attorney to get to work for you sooner rather than later. If you can hire the right lawyer immediately, then you should do so.

Continue reading "Truck Accidents: Why It's So Important to Move Quickly" »

Getting injured in a South Carolina auto accident, or losing a loved one in a South Carolina car wreck, can be a horrifying and traumatic experience for anyone to go through - particularly if you don't fully understand what steps to take, what questions to ask, what not to say, and even who to choose to represent you.

You probably have many concerns that you need to have addressed that affect the outcome of your case and your future settlement. That is why I publish this blog, and why we have helpful information on our website. I want to help unsuspecting injured people to avoid being victimized all over again by the underhanded tactics insurance companies commonly use - and to help people avoid to pitfalls commonly faced when filing a claim. Not knowing these facts can greatly affect your claim, the proper payment of your medical bills, and your recovery for lost wages, physical pain, and suffering.

Make sure not to sign any insurance company documents, give any recorded statements, or to speak to anyone before you really understand your legal rights. There is no good reason to rush out and sign up with an attorney without first getting some quality information about how to choose an attorney, and helpful information about your claim.

Continue reading "Where Do You Turn After a South Carolina Auto Accident?" »