Big rigs virtually dominate American highways. Unfortunately, they also dominate in accident statistics.
Driving these days is not like it used to be. There are way more large trucks on the highways than there ever were. They are what keeps our nation moving by transporting goods that let us live the lives we have become accustomed to having. However, when one of those rigs goes haywire, the consequences are never pleasant.
Consider the case of a woman who met her death in a very bizarre fashion; in between two semis, like the filling in a macabre sandwich. She was stopped at a red light one cold and foggy morning. In front of her was one 18-wheeler and behind her was a second big rig making its way to the light. The woman expected that the second rig would stop. It did stop, but only after it plowed into the back end of her car, driving it under the truck in front of her. She was killed on impact, leaving behind six young children.
“A wrongful death? You bet it was. The family would have been speaking to an injury lawyer very soon after that wreck. While I did not handle this case, I have seen similar ones and know that in cases like it, the family has a lot of coping to do before they can come to grips with the unexpected loss of life. Most often they are not only trying to handle the loss of life, but the loss of emotional, physical and financial support. Hence the necessity to file a wrongful death lawsuit,” said Stephen M. Ozcomert, who handles personal injury cases, accidents, and malpractice law in Atlanta, Georgia.
In similar cases, the key element is the presence of negligence. For example, the fact that the trucker did not apply his brakes prior to hitting the back end of the woman’s vehicle says volumes. Was texting involved? Was he driving under the influence? Was he nodding off behind the wheel? Did the brakes fail due to shoddy maintenance? The list of questions in truck wrecks are virtually endless.
“All these questions are part and parcel of any post-crash investigation by an injury lawyer. We need to know what happened, how it happened, why it happened and then begin to build a case for the plaintiff family to obtain fair and equitable compensation for their loved one. These are not easy cases and are also governed by a Statute of Limitations, so don’t wait too long to file. In addition, wrongful death lawsuits are civil cases, not criminal ones, which isn’t to say that the trucker may not have been charged with vehicular homicide. It’s just that the civil lawsuit would come later,” Ozcomert said.
To learn more visit Ozcomert.com.