Big Rig Accident

Published on: November 8, 2012

A personal injury action was filed stemming from an accident

by Stephen Bilkis

A personal injury action was filed stemming from an accident in Nassau, in which a 30-year old man, during his employ as a groundskeeper with a school district, severed a portion of his left ring finger when the tailgate portion of a dump body installed on a 1996 Ford F-350 dump truck dropped on his finger.

The groundskeeper related that in the spring of 2003, he noticed that the tailgate of truck 23 began to swing back and forth and he could hear it banging as he drove the truck. He said the tailgate was popping off while he was driving, and the bottom part of the tailgate used to come out of the section that was clamped to hold it together. He also testified that, from the spring of 2004 until the day of his truck accident in April 2005, the tailgate fell off the truck on a daily basis and that he complained to school personnel about said situation, but nothing was done to remedy the alleged problem.

One of the third-party defendants wanted the claims of strict products liability dismissed because the facts show that the tailgate at issue was damaged prior to the groundskeeper’s accident and was subsequently profoundly modified and altered as a result of that damage thereby resulting in his injuries. That defendant also said that there was no evidence establishing a manufacturing or design defect in the tailgate.

Published on: November 6, 2012

One August, on the Manhattan Bridge, two trucks collided head-on

by Stephen Bilkis

One August, on the Manhattan Bridge, two trucks collided head-on. According to sources, the day was rainy and the road surface slippery. The roadway was constructed of steel-ribbing with recessed concrete fill, adding to the slipperiness of the surface. As a result of the impact, the driver of one truck was thrown from his truck and sustained personal injuries. The truck driver who sustained the injuries filed a complaint against the driver of the other truck to seek compensation for the damages he sustained.

The driver of the other truck disputed liability and the nature and extent of the injuries allegedly sustained by the other driver. According to the defendant truck driver, he is not liable for the accident and the injuries sustained by the other truck driver because it was not his fault that the accident occurred. He blamed the bad weather, which caused the road to be slippery and hazardous to vehicle drivers. The defendant truck driver also said the plaintiff truck driver did not suffer permanent personal injuries that would cause him to lose his earning capabilities.

According to records in the NYC court, the sole evidence on the cause of the truck accident came from witnesses presented by the plaintiff truck driver. The records also showed that the plaintiff truck driver was involved in a prior accident in 1946. In that accident, he sustained an injury to his back. In the 1950 accident, the truck driver said he suffered injuries to the back, in addition to a fracture of a facial bone. A medical doctor who examined the plaintiff truck driver affirmed that the truck driver indeed sustained injuries as a result of the 1950 accident, but the doctor said the allegations on the facial bone fracture is yet to be determined by further medical exams.

Published on: November 4, 2012

A wrongful death action was filed arising from an accident involving a truck driver

by Stephen Bilkis

A wrongful death action was filed arising from an accident involving a truck driver and the deceased man, a bicyclist, which caused the death of the young man.

At the time of the accident, a 40-year old man was driving a white Mac Truck, which was 40 feet long, to Bloomingdales to make a daily deliver. The driver is a tractor-trailer driver for a company which delivers merchandise to retailers. The Mac Truck was owned by the company where the driver works for. The driver said he was unsure if the truck had any blindspots, that it was dark outside, and that there were street lights and lighting illuminating the area from adjacent stores.

The driver maintained that before the Truck accident, he was driving in the second lane from the left on Third Avenue and approaching its intersection with 59th Street. He estimated that the maximum amount of speed he was traveling was about five to six miles per hour. He maintained that prior to the accident he had a clear and unobstructed view of the intersection, that he did not see the deceased man in his bicycle prior to the impact, and only became aware of the accident after he had heard a loud “pop” sound emanating from the right front passenger side of the truck. At the scene of the accident, the truck driver was not issued any traffic citations, however, he later voluntarily turned himself in to the 17th Precinct of the New York City Police Department where he received a desk appearance ticket for driving with a suspended New York license.

Published on: November 1, 2012

53-year-old Pedestrian Dead in Semi-Truck Accident

by Stephen Bilkis

According to city authorities, the truck accident that happened just after midnight last Thursday claimed the life of a 53-year-old male.

The police department and a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety responded to a report an accident involving a big rig. When they arrived on the scene, they found EMS medics trying to resuscitate an unresponsive male who was lying on the side of the road.

The 55-year-old driver of the semi was obviously disturbed as he spoke to police. He was not physically injured. According to his report, he was driving southbound in the outside lane at approximately 50 mph when he noticed someone “come out of nowhere and crouch in the road.”

Published on: October 30, 2012

High School Senior Passes His Dad’s Tragic Wreck in School Bus

by Stephen Bilkis

In January, a tour bus filled with high school students was travelling down the highway returning from an Honor’s Choir concert at the University of North Dakota. An accident ahead forced the bus to slow down.

The wreck was severe. According to a witness, the scene didn’t look like anyone could have survived.

As the students peered out at the wreckage, a senior boy recognized his father’s car.

Published on: October 25, 2012

Fire Trucks Damaged by Tractor Trailer Returning This Summer

by Stephen Bilkis

One of the two fire engines severely damaged in a truck accidentthis past January is set to return to duty by late June. The trucks were damaged when a tractor trailer crashed into them on an icy interstate. The fire rescue vehicles were parked on the highway in a staggered position to protect rescue workers responding to a car crash.

The incident occurred during a snowstorm at about 8:30 p.m. Six firefighters were injured. They were brought to Bridgeport Hospital where they were treated and released.

Engine 1 and Engine 5 were damaged so severely, that the common thread of thought in the days right after the crash was that they’d have to be scrapped. They had been hit simultaneously by two tractor trailers while parked on the interstate in a standard protection formation.

Published on: October 20, 2012

Fuel Leak When Semi Truck Crashes

by Stephen Bilkis

Oil and diesel fuel were spilled in a semi-truck accident in July of 2000 on Highway 195 near Pullman. The 50-year-old driver was injured.

The man, who was driving a 1998 International semi-tractor trailer, had to receive stitches to bind up a cut to his head and was admitted to the Pullman Memorial Hospital for overnight observation. A source says it is common when certain signs are present to hold a patient overnight to ensure no further damage was done to the brain or other parts of the body.

According to a state patrol trooper in Nassau, the driver was looking at a map when the truck went off the side of the road and into a ditch where it hit a plow.

Published on: October 18, 2012

Ozark police chief injured in accident

by Stephen Bilkis

A crash involving a tractor trailer injured the police chief of Ozark, Arkansas. The new chief had been in pursuit of a Franklin County escapee.

A bystander who was eating with his family across the street from the truck accident says he could tell the vehicles involved in the wreck could not see each other. “I looked up across the street and I seen the police car…. and I seen that truck, and that truck – he just didn’t see it,” he said.

The chief’s police car ran under the tractor trailer as he was in pursuit of an escapee.

Published on: October 11, 2012

Home at Intersection Almost Hit by Semi

by Stephen Bilkis

The driver of a semi-truck narrowly missed crashing into a home that sits at the intersection of US 68 and US 62 on Saturday morning.

Authorities in Nassau and Suffolk believe the semi driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel causing the major accident on Saturday morning. Around 5 a.m., an 18-wheel semi from the company named Frontier rand the stop sign at the intersection. He barely missed hitting two homes.

The owner of the home said a Frontier claim adjuster told her that the truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel right before the accident.

Published on: October 9, 2012

Several Vehicles Wrapped in Wires Stuck Until Live Wires Investigated

by Stephen Bilkis

Wednesday in Waco, TX, two cars became tangled in phone and cable lines with live power lines hovering over them.

“There were some very dangerous moments,” bystanders said.

An 18-wheeler snagged the power lines and caused a chain reaction that brought traffic to a complete standstill.