Monthly Archives: June 2012

The family of a truck driver killed in a 2008 truck accident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the manufacturer of the truck, according to sources. Edvin Medina, the driver, drove off the Williams Street Bridge in Brattleboro, New Jersey and died at the scene. Medina’s widow and children have filed the lawsuit against Daimler Trucks North America, claiming it was responsible for the accident. “We are investigating the design of the vehicle and how it contributed to his death,” said William Caldwell, the family’s attorney. “It was reported that there was an explosion on the deck of the bridge which lead to fire engulfing the cab. Mr. Medina was unable to escape the fire and died as a consequence.” Medina was attempting to avoid a broken down minivan on the bridge when he lost control of his rig. The truck collided with the van, but Medina was able…
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Whenever a commercial truck is involved in an accident with a smaller vehicle, the chances for a fatality are far greater. Motorists in smaller vehicles are much more vulnerable to serious injury and death. In 2009, 74,000 Americans were injured in truck accidents and 3,380 were killed. According to research, the type of accident most likely to cause a fatality is a rear-end accident in which a passenger vehicle hits a commercial truck from behind. These types of collisions are four times as likely to cause a fatality than a truck rear-ending a passenger vehicle. According to TruckInfo.net, the average driver will have a near motor vehicle accident 1 to 3 times per month and be involved in some type of collision every five to eight years. Commercial trucks are involved in 2.4 percent of all car accidents. But because there are fewer on the road than passenger vehicles, semi…
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The American Trucking Associations (ATA) has requested to see a study from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that examines the accuracy of police reports that determine fault in a truck accident. Under the current FMCSA policy, fault is assigned to the motor carrier in all accidents, whether the trucker caused the accident or not. The CSA ranks the safety of motor carriers based on how many crashes their trucks are involved in, regardless of fault. “FMCSA continues to use crashes that motor carriers did not cause nor could have prevented in measuring motor carrier safety performance,” said ATA President Bill Graves. “The public should see the results of the study the agency promised almost two years ago.” Graves is right in that a thorough investigation of accidents is necessary in preventing them in the future, and it raises suspicions that the FMCSA will not fully disclose the study….
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