Car Accident Involving a Semi Tractor-Trailer: Wrongful Death (A Personal Injury Case Analysis)

Facts:

The wreck occurred on a snowy day in Indiana on westbound I70. The snow had progressively gotten worse throughout the day. The roads were covered with snow and ice. Our client, a single mother, was driving home and was on I70 westbound between Plainfield and Terre Haute, Indiana. In that area, I70 has two lanes going east and two lanes going west. Our client was traveling in the righthand lane.

At the time of the wreck, the right lane of the interstate had tire tracks in the snow from the traffic. All of the traffic was using the right lane and traveling significantly below the speed limit and leaving substantial space between their vehicles. The left lane was completely covered in snow. There were no tire tracks in the left lane.

Our client was passing the Cloverdale exit, she noticed a pickup truck driving on the ramp and entering I70 westbound. In order to avoid the pickup truck and to give it room to enter the highway, our client slowly began to merge into the left lane. Unfortunately, as she moved to the left lane, she lost control of her car and it began spinning across the left lane and towards the median. Before her car could reach the median a semi that was driving in the left lane struck our client’s car on the driver’s side. The impact killed our client. The Indiana state police officer who investigated the wreck put the fault of the wreck on our client and placed no blame on the semi-truck driver. There was one witness listed on the police report. He was driving in the righthand lane, behind our client.

Before hiring Craig, Kelley & Faultless, the family of the young lady who died, had contacted multiple personal injury lawyers. All of them declined the case. They said that because the police report was against the young lady and since she died it would be impossible to prove that the wreck was caused by the semi-truck driver.

Rules:

Semi-truck drivers are professional drivers who should be and are held to a higher standard than the average driver. Semi-truck drivers are paid to drive. They are required to get a special driver’s license, a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). In order to get this license, they have to prove special knowledge about the safe operation of a commercial motor vehicle. There are special rules that apply to semi-truck drivers when faced with adverse weather.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) require commercial motor vehicles to use “extreme caution” when operating their vehicles in adverse weather conditions. In addition, the commercial drivers manual teaches semi-truck drivers to decrease their speed by 50% when driving on packed snow and to get off the road as soon as possible when the roads are covered with ice.

Indiana Comparative Fault law provides that you can be partially at fault for an accident and still recover damages as long as you are not more than 50% at fault. If you are 50% or less at fault, then you can collect at least a portion of your damages. So if the lady who died was 50% or less at fault and the semi-truck driver was 50% or more at fault then her estate would be able to collect the percentage of fault assigned to the semi-truck driver.

Analysis:

As managing partner Craig, Kelley & Faultless, I decided to take the wrongful death case and represent the family of the lady who was killed. I believed the semi-driver was more than 50% at fault for the wreck because he failed to use extreme caution as required by the FMCSR. He failed to decrease his speed by 50% as set forth in the CDL manual. He wasn’t even executing the same caution as the drivers of the cars that were on I70. The other motorists were all driving in the right-hand lane (where there were tracks), single file, with a safe cushion between their vehicles. They were all driving significantly below the posted speed limit. The semi-truck driver was driving near the speed limit, in the left lane, which was covered by snow and ice. He was passing vehicles.

Once hired, I quickly took the deposition of the driver who was behind the lady who was killed. He confirmed that the roads were in bad shape and covered with snow and ice. He confirmed that our client was driving slowly in the right lane and tried to switch lanes because of a pickup truck entering the highway at Cloverdale on a ramp. He confirmed that all traffic had been driving in the right lane for miles and that no one passed each other until the semi driver passed him in the left lane at a speed significantly faster than our client was traveling. Because he was our only witness it was important to take a deposition and lock in his story. Without his testimony, we would have likely not had a case.

We also hired a trucking company expert who concluded that the semi-truck driver was violating the rules that applied to him on the day of the wreck. He was driving too fast for the conditions and was unable to slow down or stop in time to avoid the wreck.

Conclusion:

This case settled, and a trial was not necessary. The family was able to obtain some financial help. Luckily the client’s family wouldn’t take no for an answer when their case was turned down by several personal injury attorneys.

Not all lawyers handle wrecks involving semi-trucks, dump trucks, or other commercial motor vehicles. Not all personal injury lawyers have handled wrecks involving big trucks. There is a difference between a personal injury attorney and a truck accident lawyer. This case demonstrated that difference. By understanding the rules that apply to licensed truck drivers, we were able to help this family.

Craig, Kelley & Faultless is over 20 years old, and I have been practicing law for over 35 years. We have attorneys licensed in Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. Craig, Kelley & Faultless has nine attorneys that have all been recognized as one of the Top 100 Attorneys, 40 under 40, Rising Stars, and/or Super Lawyers. It is our law firm’s goal to make a positive difference in our clients’ lives and the lives of the people in the community where we practice. Our attorneys and our staff treat the clients how we would want to be treated.

My partner, Scott Faultless and I, sit on the Board of Regents for the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys (which requires board certification in Truck Accident Law). Scott and I have been recognized as a Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyer and Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Indiana by The National Trial Lawyers. I am also the author of Semitruck Wreck, A Guide for Victims and Their Families, which can be found on Amazon. I also host a podcast, After the Crash, where you can obtain valuable information about the dangers involving semis and large trucks. You can find my podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcast, and our website. For more information about our firm go to https://www.ckflaw.com or contact our office at 1(800)746-0226.