Utah Law Talk

Ted Macfarlane was an 82-year-old passenger in a Suburban this past Wednesday, February 10, 2010, when the vehicle he was in was rear-ended by a semi-truck.on the I-15 freeway, in an area just north of Ogden, Utah. According to The Leader, the driver of the car, Paul Forsberg, had just merged onto the freeway at Riverside when Forsberg’s Chevy Suburban was rear ended by a semi truck. This trucking accident happened at mile marker 384, which is just one mile south of Riverside, Utah. According to reports, the driver of the big rig, Lucas Butler, 31 years-old of Salt Lake City, Utah, had looked down at his radio when the crash happened. It was estimated that the Suburban had been going 55 mile per hour compared to the semi’s estimated 69 miles per hour. Butler’s employer, Empire Warehouse, is based out of Colorado. The impact caused the driver of the Suburban to loose control, and the truck veered to the right and flipped roughly five times before it came to a rest on its top.

Emergency crews responded and transported Ted Macfarlane to McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden. He was said to have had surgery at the same hospital in Ogden. Family members are encouraged because their father, grandfather (and great grandfather) has been taken off of his breathing tube and can now breathe on his own. Unfortunately, he is said to only be able to make small movement in his left arm, his granddaughter Kristi Kent said.

My condolences go out to Ted Macfarlane and his family. From the article, it sounds like he suffered a spinal cord injury, or SCI, among other injuries that he no doubt experienced from this Utah truck accident. Having had clients with spinal cord injuries myself, I know how serious and life-changing they can be, and that the period following the injury is most critical in terms of what functions Mr. Macfarlane may be able to recover. It seems that a patient’s will and desire can play a large part in the recovery process. I would encourage Ted Macfarlane and his family not to give up hope but to work diligently with rehabilitation professionals to get back as much function as he can, knowing that results from his injuries can take a long while.

As I see it, the trucking company, Empire Warehouse Inc., based in Erie, Colorado, has a lot to answer for. First, the truck driver rear-ended the Suburban. This is evidence that the driver failed to keep a proper lookout for vehicles merging onto the highway. From the report, it sounds as if the Suburban merged safely onto the freeway but that it was shortly thereafter rear-ended by the driver of the semi. Another violation that jumps out is the failure to keep a proper distance between one vehicle and the vehicle in front. Third, it seems from the news report that we already have an admission from the driver that he was looking at his radio at the time of the crash. This is a violation of Utah Code section 41-6a-1715, which defines “careless driving” as committing a moving violation (following too close) while using an electronic device.

Finally, truckers are considered “professional drivers” and are held to a higher set of rules than normal drivers are. A reason for this is because a fully-loaded semi truck weighing around 80,000 pounds can inflict horrible damage and injury if it is driven negligently. The rules that govern semi truck drivers are found in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and require, among many other things, that truck drivers get enough sleep so that they are alert at the wheel. This is why one of the first things that should be looked at in reviewing a case like this is the driver’s log. Unfortunately, the law states that the trucking company can destroy this log after six months. It is therefore critical to request these items from the trucking company as soon as possible.

There are a number of other things that should be done to properly investigate the claim against the trucking company, including sending out a “preservation letter” to the trucking company, which asks them to preserve all evidence related to this claim. Because of the complexity of it all, I would recommend that the family contact an experienced Utah trucking accident attorney or lawyer who can help them navigate the minefields that can be present in these kinds of cases.

The Kramer Law Group does not currently represent any of the parties referenced in the blog article above. We have cited and linked to the source of our information. If you were involved in the above incident, or one like it, and have questions about your rights and possible remedies, you may call a reputable Utah personal injury law firm. The information and opinions expressed above are provided as a public service and should not be used in place of legal advice from a qualified Utah personal injury lawyer.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Utah Trucking Big Rig Accident. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.