Trucking Accident | Utah Law Talk

Archive for the ‘Trucking Accident’ Category

Spinal Cord Injury Victim Receives $23.5 Million Verdict

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

In what is being described as the largest traffic accident verdict in Kansas, a jury last week handed down a verdict of $23.5 million in a lawsuit involving the collision of two semi trucks that left one of its victim with a serious spinal cord injury. The amount was later reduced 35 percent by the judge to reflect the contributory fault of the injured victim, for a net verdict of $15.3 million.

According to the Wichita Eagle, the injured man, Terry Frederick, 56, of Overland Park, KS, was asleep in the sleeper portion of a Yellow Freight truck being driven by his riding partner, Dennis Bottorff. The truck accident happened on U.S. 54 near Tucumcari, NM. At the time, the truck was traveling down the highway, approaching a truck stop. Around this time, a woman, in a Swift semi-trailer, was backing her rig onto the highway. (The woman, it is reported, was under the influence of meth at the time.) Mr. Bottorff was apparently unable to stop in time and rear-ended the rear portion of the Swift truck. Sadly he died at the scene. Terry Frederick, who was in the sleeper cab, received a serious, disabling spinal cord injury.

Because of Terry’s severe injuries, he racked up massive amounts of medical bills, some $5 million, according to news reports. The bulk of the jury’s verdict will go to pay back medical providers and care givers who rendered medical treatment and to pay others to provide medical support to him in the future. Kudos to the attorneys who got him this tremendous result. We wish him the best as he continues to adjust to a radically-changed life style that came as a result of the other driver’s (and the trucking company’s) poor choices.

Ron Kramer is a Utah personal injury attorney who specializes in vehicle accident cases, including those involving spinal cord injuries. Earlier this year, he obtained a seven-figure jury verdict for a client who had received a spinal cord injury from a motor vehicle accident in Ogden, Utah.

Published by: Ron Kramer

Posted in Dog Bites, Personal Injury, Spinal Cord Injury, Trucking Accident, Vehicle Injury, text messaging | No Comments »

Tooele Truck Accident Claims Life of UPS Driver

Monday, December 1st, 2008

This morning, December 1, 2008, a UPS driver was killed when the UPS truck he was driving collided with a large dump truck in Tooele, Utah, on State Road 36. According to KSL.com, a dump truck hauling mud was proceeding northbound on State Road 36 in Tooele when the driver of the dump truck attempted to turn left onto State Road 138. Coming in the opposite direction, however, was a UPS truck driven by Alan Christofferson. The two trucks ended up colliding basically head on in this intersection, heavily damaging both of them and, sadly, killing Mr. Christofferson.

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

The impact was enough to eject the driver of the dump truck out of his truck onto the street. He is reported to have non-life-threatening injuries and was flown to the hospital. KSL.com has pictures of the crash which show the severity of the impact. One of the pictures shows the engine of one of these trucks completely detached and lying on the ground. Both cabs of the two trucks were completely demolished. The UHP reports that a citation would likely be issued. Another possibility is that the driver of the dump truck will be charged with negligent homicide.

Auto accidents involving a driver improperly making a left-hand turn are almost a daily occurrence. I reported on a motorcycle accident earlier today where the driver of a car made what sounds like an improper left-hand turn into a motorcycle. As I mentioned in that posting, the driver of a vehicle – and especially a large big-rig-type truck – has a duty to wait until the coast is clear before completing their turn. Drivers of heavy trucks, I would say, have even more of a duty to make sure they can safely turn before they begin their turn.

In this situation, it appears that the family of the deceased has a “wrongful death” claim against the driver of the dump truck and his company for this truck crash. Most commercial policies, such as the one likely to cover this dump truck, have at least one million in coverage, with many having “umbrella” policies to cover claims in excess of the policy limits.

My heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of Alan Christofferson.

Ron Kramer is a Utah personal injury attorney practicing in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Tooele and Weber Counties.

Published by: Ron Kramer

Posted in Personal Injury, Trucking Accident, Vehicle Injury, Wrongful Death | No Comments »

Truck Accident Driver Cited for Propane Spill

Monday, November 24th, 2008

The driver of a truck that spilled its load on November 21, 2008, was cited for failure to properly travel in his lane. According to a story in the Deseret News, the man was driving a semi-truck pulling two trailers filled with propane when he lost control of the truck. It was at the junction of I-80 West and 215 South, where the driver was leaving the I-80 to catch the east side of the 215 in Salt Lake City when it happened. All told, some 8,000 people were evacuated from their homes following the rollover, which spilled large amounts of propane. When the story first broke, KSL.com reported that the driver had “critical” injuries. We now learn that the driver is reported to have just minor injuries, which is certainly a relief.

In this situation, it certainly sounds like the driver was at fault in causing this crash to occur. Granted that the turn from I-80 at the mouth of Parley’s Canyon to southbound 215 is fairly sharp, a driver pulling such a hazardous and dangerous load should have been exercising extreme caution at the point he is making the transition. Thankfully, no one besides the driver was reported to be injured.

Ron Kramer is a personal injury/truck accident lawyer practicing in the Salt Lake, Ogden and Provo areas.

Published by: Ron Kramer

Posted in Trucking Accident, Vehicle Injury | No Comments »