Commercial Truck Accident

Published on: November 24, 2012

On September 30, 2011, a woman submitted a charge against Nassau County

by Stephen Bilkis

On September 30, 2011, a woman submitted a charge against Nassau County for negligence in conducting its sanding/salting operations. She alleged that the operations were done in an unsafe manner, therefore causing the truck accident that injured her.

According to reports, County truck number 3124 was removing snow and salting the streets in Hempstead, New York. The woman said that she was standing between two parked cars in the street when suddenly, the truck threw a “metal projectile” that hit her left hand and forehad. During the hearing, both parties referred to the “metal projectile” as a reinforcement bar.

Because of the injuries she sustained, the woman charged Nassau County with negligence. The County then submitted a motion to the Court for a summary judgment to dismiss the woman’s complaint. To support this, the County brought forth as a witness the Equipment Supervisor and Acting Highway Maintenance Supervisor of the Hempstead Garage. The Supervisor had been an Equipment Operator before and had sanded, salted, and plowed the town roads. He said that although clogs sometimes occur in the opening to the funnel where the salt leaves the vehicle, the clogs are just frozen chunks of salt. He also said that there was never a time when a driver had reported a clog in the funnel from that wasn’t frozen salt. After seeing the piece of metal that hit the woman and injured her, he said that it looked like a reinforcement bar used in construction. However, it did not resemble any of the truck parts and he had no idea where it came from.

Published on: November 22, 2012

This is a summary of the decision of the Supreme Court of the State of New York

by Stephen Bilkis

This is a summary of the decision of the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Nassau County on a motion for summary judgment submitted by BNJ Granite/Cabinets last March 7, 2011. BNJ Granite/Cabinets and Innovative Stone were charged with negligence and failing to provide its employees with a safe work site and working conditions. This negligence was alleged to be the cause of the truck accident in which Michael Tyson was injured.

On January 12, 2009, Michael Tyson of the Bronx was injured as he was working in BNJ Granite’s granite manufacturing business site in Holbrook, New York. Tyson was hired by Innovative Stone to transport two slabs of granite, around 6 feet by 10 feet and weighing 900 pounds, in his truck. The slabs were to be placed on the flatbed of his truck with an A-frame support to hold the slabs in place. The A-frame was assembled by two BNJ Granite employees. The slabs would be then be lifted by a forklift onto the truck and into the frame.

One of the BNJ employees, under Tyson’s guidance, lifted the first granite slab and positioned it on the surface of the truck. He did the same with the second slab when suddenly, it fell from the A-frame into where Tyson was. Tyson had been laying wooden planks on the truck’s base to cushion the granite and prevent it from breaking. The slab landed on both his legs and crushed them. He had to have three surgeries and both legs amputated.

Published on: November 20, 2012

The bus companies denied liability

by Stephen Bilkis

One day in July, a the driver of a truck owned by a car leasing company, and leased to a delivery company experienced recurrence of a mechanical problem with the truck in which the accelerator pedal occasionally sticks, does not elevate automatically when the driver’s foot is off it, and which the driver is able to correct only by tapping the pedal with his foot. The driver called the mechanics responsible for the maintenance of the truck who instructed him to drive the truck back into Manhattan.

In the afternoon, the truck was travelling westbound on the Long Island Expressway when the pedal stuck again as the truck was descending an incline. At that point the Expressway curved slightly to the left. The driver looked at the pedal for a moment, during which period the truck swerved on to the shoulder of the Expressway, striking two parked buses. A passenger in the bus suffered very severe injuries to his legs.

The passenger filed an action for damages against the truck driver and the bus companies. The bus companies denied liability arguing that the buses were not the proximate causes of the injuries sustained by the passenger.

Published on: November 17, 2012

One afternoon, a 35-year old woman met a car accident

by Stephen Bilkis

One afternoon, a 35-year old Brooklyn woman met a car accident. Her vehicle was struck in the rear by a truck. The truckwas not immediately identified because it hurriedly left the scene of the accident. According to sources, the woman suffered personal injuries as a result of that accident. To recover damages for the car and her injuries, the woman filed an action against the insurance company who provided insurance to her vehicle. Under the insurance policy, the insurance company agreed to pay for some injuries caused by an truck accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of a Supplementary Uninsured Automobile.

According to the police report, the Bronx truck that hit the woman’s car had a New York license plate. A DMV printout indicated the truck that hit the woman’s car was insured. The insurer of the truck, however, denied any liability and contended that the driver of the truck was not involved in the accident.

Arbitration on the case began. The insurer of the woman’s vehicle, however, sought to have arbitration permanently stayed alleging that the opposing side has failed to furnish sufficient evidence to support their allegation that the offending vehicle was uninsured at the date of the accident. The insurance company also alleged that it is not liable for the injuries suffered by the woman and the damages sustained by the car because the accident did not arise out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the car. The insurance company maintained that it does not have an obligation to pay under the insurance because the truck caused the accident and its resulting injuries and damages.

Published on: November 13, 2012

New York’s Labor Law or common law negligence

by Stephen Bilkis

A case was filed raising the issue of whether the collapse of forms used for framing poured concrete foundations, stacked on top of a flatbed truck that killed a 40-year old man falls within the provisions of the New York City’s Labor Law or common law negligence.

One day in March of 2006, the man was fatally injured while standing on a flatbed truck when a bundle of concrete forms lying on the floor of the truck fell on him, causing him to fall to the ground below. The decedent was employed by a subcontractor to the owner of the premises where the accident happened. The subcontractor was to perform demolition, excavation, and foundation work in the construction of house.

The project where the demolition was done called for the construction of several three-family and two-family homes. The decedent had been working on the site loading concrete forms onto a flatbed truck. The forms were used in pouring the concrete foundation and were then removed. The forms were then stacked in groups of fifteen, bound together, and lifted by a Caterpillar 320 machine out of the foundation hole and onto the flatbed truck. There were six bundles of concrete forms that had to be lifted. Each bundle contained 15 concrete forms that were tied with two metal straps on each side. The truck accident occurred with the fourth bundle.

Published on: November 11, 2012

In the morning of October in 1969, a 40-year old woman was involved in a car accident

by Stephen Bilkis

In the morning of October in 1969, a 40-year old woman was involved in a car accident and sustained serious personal injuries while operating her automobile eastbound on New York State Route 17. According to sources, the automobile struck a cement brick located on the roadway.

The Staten Island woman filed an action against a company manufacturing split limestone alleging that it had negligently loaded concrete building blocks upon a truck that it owned or controlled, with the result that one or more of these blocks fell on to the pavement of Route 17 and caused the unfortunate automobile accident. The manufacturing company has a policy of liability insurance.

An investigation on the accident was held and showed that prior to the day of the accident, the truck, while heading eastbound on Route 17, broke down a short distance to the east of Binghamton on Route 17. The truck was carrying split limestone, for delivery. The truck was towed to another location and the manufacturer borrowed another truck from a car leasing company. The borrowed truck was the one involved in the accident. The borrowed truck was also insured.

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 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.