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Published on: February 10, 2012

Woman dies in truck accident

by Stephen Bilkis

Police told a reporter that a woman was killed on Saturday morning after her pickup truck crashed into a tractor-trailer in Lindley town. The woman was from Corning, which is a town nearby. The truck accident happened approximately 5:40 p.m. between Stowell Road and Route 15, which was close to the highway as police told the lawyer. The woman was 54 years old, and she was on her way to visit her family. The car got out of control, while it was driving east on Stowell Road.

She was unable to stop the car when she got to the intersection. Therefore, the car skidded on the road and careened into the front of the tractor-trailer that was coming in the opposite direction. At least, this is what the source believes. The man that was driving the tractor-trailer was 60 years of age, and he was driving from Trenton, Ontario. The truck driver was not able to stop the truck in time to save the woman. So the tractor trailer hit the pickup truck that the woman was driving and it struck the side where the passenger sits. Accidents like this are common in Long Island but not in New York City.

According to the media, the woman was dead on the scene. The coroner also confirmed the woman’s death on the scene. There was an eight-year-old in the passenger seat at the time of the truck accident. However, that eight-year-old passenger was not seriously hurt. He was treated at a hospital because of complaining about pain in his neck, and his back. The police reported to the public that they are continuing their investigation into this matter. At this time, no traffic tickets will be issued, according to the police report.

Published on: February 7, 2012

On August 1, 2005 an employee of a construction company was working on a construction site

by Stephen Bilkis

On August 1, 2005 an employee of a construction company was working on a construction site when he was injured. He was working as a laborer taking out tile, glass and fixtures from old apartments at the site and taking them to the dumpster. When one dumpster filled up, his manager told him to drag the empty dumpster from across the street over to the side of the street that he was working on in order to start putting debris into it. One of the sheet rock trucks was blocking the location and the manager told him to ask the sheet rock people to move that truck over to make room for the dumpster. The worker went over to the truck and asked the sheet rock workers to move the truck. As they started to move the truck, the worker was walking backward, guiding the sheet rock truck when he stepped on to a manhole cover. The manhole cover popped up onto its side and the worker fell into the hole with both legs. There were several witnesses to his fall. The worker testified at trial that earlier he had seen some water department people draining the fire hydrant into the man hole and that they had removed the cover and one man had gone down in to the hole. He stated that he had not seen any of the construction people on the site that he worked with anywhere near the man hole prior to his fall. This did not happen in Queens or Long Island.

There are several questions of fact in this case. First of all, the Justices cannot determine who owned the housing that was being worked on at the time of the truck accident. They also cannot determine who actually owns the property where the incident occurred. No deeds or affidavits have been submitted clarifying ownership. There is a question of who owned the manhole and who worked on the manhole thereby establishing who had responsibility to operate and maintain the manhole.

The Justices in this case determine that there are enough questions of fact to require a jury to hear this case. They determined that there could well be a findable case under Labor Law §241 for the fall and that as such, they are precluded from deciding on any summary judgment. It is so ordered by this Court that a trial shall be held in this case.

Published on: February 5, 2012

Luck was with this overturned semi driver

by Stephen Bilkis

No one goes off to work in the morning thinking they may be in an truck accident. The trucker in this accident case wasn’t expecting to overturn his rig either, said a friend. Unfortunately, it happened and the truck blocked large portions of the Interstate near an exit ramp. Traffic was re-routed around the big rig and on to the shoulder.

The police report is not clear on what caused the trucker to overturn his rig. They are searching for his cell phone and any other items in the cab of the truck that will give them some idea of what he was doing just prior to the accident. They will want to know if he was texting or talking on his cell phone, using a computer while driving or adjusting his GPS on the dashboard. It only takes mere seconds of inattention to the road to lose control of an 18-wheeler, explained the source.

The roads at the time weren’t in the best condition and there is also some speculation that the truck accident may have been caused by the semi hitting a patch of black ice, which raises the question of what speed the trucker was going. The police will be checking the onboard computer to find out his speed and whether or not he applied his brakes before rolling over.

Published on: February 2, 2012

Trucker avoiding an accident ended up in an accident

by Stephen Bilkis

In a slightly bizarre twist of events, this trucker, who went out of his way to avoid a truck accident, ended up getting into a crash anyway, recounted a witness. He overturned and as a result of that, ended up blocking the whole southbound lane of the highway for about five hours.

Evidently, a car on the highway just ahead of the tanker, swerved in order to avoid a box that was in the middle of the road. The semi, with nowhere else to do, then veered sideways to try and avoid hitting the car. He was carrying 5,100 gallons of gas.

Unfortunately, the trucker hit the median and the rig overturned, spilling about 2,000 gallons of fuel out across the road. EMS crews were on the scene in minutes, their focus trying to contain the gas from spreading. They knew that any spark could trigger the whole river of gas and send it up in a roaring conflagration explained the police.

Published on: January 30, 2012

An action was filed seeking declaratory judgment

by Stephen Bilkis

An action was filed seeking declaratory judgment. The plaintiffs, who are the insured and one of their insurers, seek an adjudication that another insurer, is obliged to defend a certain action for personal injuries based upon the alleged negligence of one of the plaintiffs. The personal injury action was filed by workers who were injured as a result of a truck accident. According to sources, the motor truck involved in the accident had been leased. The truck was covered by a liability policy.

The policy not only protected the named insured, the owner of the truck, but also any person or organization legally responsible for the use of the subject truck. The policy, however, does not protect the named insured if the accident occurs while the automobile is not being used exclusively in the business of the Named Insured and over a route the Named Insured is authorized to serve by federal or public authority.

The plaintiffs contended that at the time of the truck accident the truck was operated in the business of the named insured and that therefore the policy applies to the pending personal injury suit. The insurer, on the other hand, asserted that the named insured did not operate the truck exclusively in his own business at the time of the accident and that therefore there is no coverage here.

Published on: January 27, 2012

Five injured by jackknifing semi

by Stephen Bilkis

Snow played a big part in this ugly semi truck accident, explained the witness. It had been snowing all day and there was a good four inched of the white, sticky stuff on the roads. Accidents were happening all over the place. Two police officers and three others were hurt when they were hit by a jackknifing tractor trailer.

When EMS crews responded to the scene, they discovered that the semi had lost control while speeding and trying to pass another vehicle. Not the brightest thing in the world to try and do, as it sent the semi across the road, causing it to hit a disabled car and the two officers talking to the motorist. The truck hit the car so hard, it send one of the officers under the truck and propelled the other at least 100-yards down the road, where he landed with incredible force, described the report.

The officer trapped under the truck sustained a compound ankle fracture and the one thrown into the air suffered a dislocated shoulder. Both were lucky they were not more seriously hurt, the friend commented. The driver of the car that the semi hit was also taken to the hospital and admitted to the trauma unit. Truck accidents like these are common in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Published on: January 23, 2012

Semi backs up over man killing him

by Stephen Bilkis

This was a horrific truck accident that devastated the lives of many, said the report. The family of the dead man in this case filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the trucker that backed up over their dad in a parking lot.

The semi driver was attempting to move his rig to a different location in the parking lot and for some reason, failed to see the man walking behind him. Unfortunately, that man lost his life and even though responding EMS crews got there fast, reported the witness, he didn’t survive his injuries from the truck accident.

There are obviously some questions the police will need answered in this case, not the least of which is why was the deceased walking behind a big rig in one of the trucker’s blind spots? Why was he walking behind a moving rig in the first place? Did he fail to hear the backup warning signals, asked the questioner? Why was the driver backing up and not checking behind his truck? And why would the deceased, a trucker himself, walk into the path of a moving semi? In Brooklyn and Staten Island there would be an investigation.

Published on: January 20, 2012

Trucker overturns with load of live chickens

by Stephen Bilkis

Some days, it doesn’t even pay to get out of bed and go to work. Some days, things go fine and other days, they wind up to be a truly memorable occasion that one wishes to forget. This trucking accidentcase was one of those days the trucker would love to write off and forget, but, unfortunately, it will likely dog his footsteps for many years to come, given the nature of the mishap.

The big rig in this case was heading south on the highway and for some reason, yet to be determined, the rig flipped over. The cargo was 8,740 live chickens on their way to the processing plant, explained a report. The accident scene posed a major problem for rescue crews as they would need to figure out how to handle the chickens and where to take them.

The trucker wasn’t badly hurt; shaken up, but did not receive life-threatening injuries. He will be questioned by the police as to what happened just prior to his rig flipping over, said the police. Was he reaching for something on the dashboard or the seat next to him? Was he DUI? Was he trying to dial a cell phone? One thing is for sure, if he had not turned over with no one near him at the time, this truck accident could have turned out to be a lot worse than it was.

Published on: January 18, 2012

On June 5, 1954 at about 8 in the morning, an accountant arrived at a bar and grill that he was contracted to do the accounting work for

by Stephen Bilkis

On June 5, 1954 at about 8 in the morning, an accountant arrived at a bar and grill that he was contracted to do the accounting work for. The only other person in the bar was the bartender who was behind the bar. As the accountant came in to the bar, the bartender extended his hand to greet the other man. Since the bartender was behind the bar, he had moved to a section of the bar where a counter piece could be raised up to go between the floor of the bar and the area behind the bar. As the accountant stepped forward to shake the bartender’s hand, he fell through a trap door in the floor. The trap door was opened for reason of a delivery.

The beer delivery man had arrived moments before this encounter. Because of the confines of the business, he was required to park out on the street in front of the business and enter through the main room. Once inside, he had to go to the section of the bar that raises lift the trap door, descend by way of the cellar stairs into the cellar. At that point, he had to go through the cellar to the cellar doors that he could open from the inside to accept the beer barrels that would be passed down to him from his associate on the sidewalk above.

On this date, he had already entered and testified later that he had collected the barrels from his partner on the street and was on his way up when he saw that the accountant had been injured. Because the terms of the insurance for the beer delivery truck driver’s truck states that it covers all of the steps involved in the delivery until the item has been placed in its ultimate location.

Published on: January 15, 2012

Four killed in taxi versus semi collision

by Stephen Bilkis

Four men on their way to a wedding were killed in a truck accident when the cab they were riding in ran into the back of a big rig parked in the middle of the road, said the observer. What was the big rig doing in the middle of the road without any flares or warning signs? This is a good question and one that the police will want answered when they succeed in tracking down the negligent truck driver.

Because there was no warning that a truck had been abandoned in the middle of the highway, the taxi driver didn’t see it, as they were traveling in the very early hours of the morning, when visibility was not good. When the cab rear-ended the truck, three passengers and the driver died on impact, reported the source. There was one survivor, who was rushed to hospital for medical care.

Why a trucker would leave a big rig sitting in the middle of the road without any warning signs or flares just defies all common sense logic. Would he not have anticipated that someone would come along and possibly hit his vehicle? Why weren’t the authorities called when the truck had problems and needed to be abandoned? Why did the trucker not follow safety rules and put out flares, direct traffic around his rig or put up warning cones for several hundred yards down the road to keep people from running into his truck? Truck accidents like this one are not often reported in places like the Bronx or Brooklyn.