Are Stricter Penalties Needed to Keep Truck Drivers Focused on the Road? A Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyer Weighs In.

An investigation by an ABC news station in New York over a three-week period found that truck drivers on some of New York’s busiest highways are texting or talking on their cell phones while driving.

The investigative reporter said that the hidden camera investigation caught “truck drivers routinely, illegally and dangerously texting and talking on phones.” One camera caught a truck driver and his co-workers, all in the front seat, with all with eyes, including the drivers, focused on a cell phone. On another highway, a truck driver was filmed using two phones simultaneously while driving.

According to Eyewitness News 7 in New York, the Department of Transportation says that last year nearly 16,000 truckers were ticketed for using their cell phone, but only 4 of those were suspended and taken out of service. Eyewitness news referred to this as an epidemic and deadly problem. […]

10 dead after semi-truck hits a bus filled with students

A fatal collision on interstate 5 in Northern California yesterday left at least 10 people dead and dozens more injured. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were a total of 3,921 fatal truck accidents and 104,000 people injured in crashes involving large trucks in the U.S. in 2012, the last year for which statistics are available. A total of 317,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes during 2012.

An increase in truck-related highway fatalities recorded by the NHTSA in 2012 versus 2011 is firing renewed debate regarding the industry’s safety profile. This latest deadly crash raises even more concerns.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused the FedEx semi-truck to cross the median into on-coming traffic and crash head-on into a charter bus filled with high school students traveling to visit a local university. The crash left the bus engulfed in flames. […]

Defending Yourself After a Trucking Accident – Advice from Dan Munley, Personal Injury Attorney at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

While I’ve seen them often, it always pains me to see trucking and car accidents. The one that took place today on I-94  in Michigan City, Indiana is one of the worst semi-trailer accidents this lawyer has seen. According to NBC Chicago’s report of the accident, three deaths have already been confirmed.  The crash involved over 15 semi-trailers (semi-trucks) and dozens of passenger vehicles, which were pinned underneath these large semi trucks.  Many of the injured were taken to University of Indiana Health-LaPorte Hospital for treatment of injuries.

Sadly, many of these victim’s families are probably at the hospital right now, focused on their loved one’s safety, meanwhile, the law firms representing the insurance companies are likely already beginning to do everything they can to minimize compensation or reimbursement for pain and suffering. That includes making evidence disappear quickly.  I know this because I’ve seen it done before in cases I’ve represented just like this.    […]

What Kind of Training Do Truck Drivers Get in Pennsylvania? The Answer May Shock You. Personal Injury Lawyers Explain:

What makes commercial trucks among the most dangerous vehicles on the road in Pennsylvania? Personal Injury Lawyer explains:

• What does truck driver training have to do with your trucking accident case?
• What are the chances your Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers will settle your case?
• Can you afford to hire Pennsylvania Personal Injury Lawyers for assistance with your case? How much are they going to charge you?

WATCH VIDEO: PENNSYLVANIA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS TALK ABOUT TRUCK ACCIDENTS:

Trucking accidents are on the rise. Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers explain why:

Truck drivers are supposed to be fully trained and supervised. This is mandated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The weird thing is, the trucking companies are pretty much in charge of policing themselves. […]

Pennsylvania Trucking Laws that COULD AFFECT YOUR TRUCK ACCIDENT CASE – Personal Injury Lawyers Explain:

Pennsylvania Trucking Regulations Could Prevent Drivers From Falling Asleep While Driving. Personal Injury lawyers Explain How:

• What are the regulations?
• How much money do personal injury lawyers in Pennsylvania charge to take on your truck accident case?
• Do Personal Injury Lawyers in Pennsylvania bill you by the hour? 

WATCH VIDEO: PENNSYLVANIA PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS TALK ABOUT BIG CAUSE OF TRUCK ACCIDENTS:

Pennsylvania personal injury lawyers: How new trucking regulations may affect your truck accident case

The trucking industry must follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. All trucking companies and their drivers are responsible for knowing these safety regulations. They cannot plead ignorance of the law as an excuse if they fail to comply with these regulations and cause an accident. […]

Pennsylvania State Trooper Dies in Accident

State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan announced the tragic death of 47-year-old Trooper First Class Blake T. Coble of Troop D, Beaver Station after he was killed in an automobile wreck last Thursday. Coble was on duty Oct. 4 when he was struck by a semi at 10 a.m. at Black Hawk Road near Route 168 in South Beaver Township.

According to news reports, Coble’s patrol car was struck by the tractor-trailer when the truck driver went through a stop sign at the intersection. No charges have been filed against the driver of the truck, who has been cooperating with investigators, state police said.

In a press release announcing Coble’s death, Noonan said:

“He [Coble] died serving the people of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the men and women of the Pennsylvania State Police mourn his loss and extend our sincere condolences to his family and friends. […]

One in Five Violation Rate Not Acceptable, Pennsylvania Truck Accident Lawyer Says

Scranton, PA, September 08, 2012 — Truck accident attorney Marion Munley said today that national inspections of 74,072 trucks and buses that resulted in one-fifth of the vehicles being removed from the road should raise concerns for the sponsoring Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA).

The CVSA said in a recent news release that its 25th Annual Roadcheck, a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) safety enforcement and outreach event, inspected a record number of trucks and buses.

The organization said 22.4 percent of CMVs and 3.9 percent of drivers were placed out of service, or removed from the road, after the inspections. The CVSA said those vehicle and driver OOS rates represented the second-lowest in the program’s history.

Munley, a nationally recognized Pennsylvania truck accident lawyer with the Scranton personal injury firm of Munley Law, said those numbers were still too high.

“It’s certainly a concern when one in five of the tractor-trailers and other big-rig trucks that trucking companies continue to put on the road are in such poor shape that they should be removed from the road before they cause an accident,” she said. […]

Two Dump Truck Accidents Result in Fatalities

Two dump truck accidents have claimed the lives of Pennsylvania residents.

• According to Times-Tribune.com, a 17-year-old recent high school graduate was killed when her vehicle was involved in a crash with a dump truck on Aug 13.She was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred in Windham Township when the teen, traveling east toward Mehoopany, crossed into the path of a dump truck.
• On Aug. 9, a man was hit and killed by a dump truck in Schuylkill County on Aug. 9, according to news reports. The McAdoo resident was hit along South Kennedy Street in McAdoo. He died a few hours later at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

We have recently posted about dump truck accidents and the reason they are involved in so many serious, sometimes fatal truck accidents. From that Nov. […]

Pennsylvania Receives Truck Safety Award from U.S. DOT

The Pennsylvania State Police announced this month they received the prestigious 2012 Safety Enforcement Improvement Award from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

The award, presented at the FMCSA’s annual leadership conference, is presented to the one state “that demonstrates the greatest improvement to its truck safety enforcement program in terms of cost efficiency and traffic enforcement.”

“This achievement is truly a great honor for the Pennsylvania State Police and our motor carrier enforcement partners,” said State Police Commissioner Frank Noonan when announcing receipt of the award.

More than 100,000 trucks were inspected in PA in 2011, representing a 35 percent increase over the number of inspections performed just three years ago, according to the press release.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports in 2010, the most current year of data, 164 people died in crashes involving a large truck in Pennsylvania. […]

PA Truck Accident Lawyer Applauds Move to Kill Truck Bill

Scranton, PA, February 23, 2012 — Pennsylvania tractor-trailer accident lawyer Daniel W. Munley, chairman of the American Association of Justice’s Trucking Litigation Group, today applauded a Congressional committee’s move to kill part of a bill that would have reduced trucking safety on the nation’s highways.

“Proposals in the bill under consideration would have increased allowable weight and length of transfer trucks to dangerous levels,” said Munley, a partner in the regional law firm of Munley, Munley & Cartwright, whose Pennsylvania truck accident attorneys focus on tractor-trailer litigation throughout the Northeast.

“We’re glad the House transportation bill will move forward without measures that would have threatened safety on our highways,” Munley said.

Portions of a bill before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee would have overturned the 1991 federal ban on triple tractor trailers and raised the weight limit on transfer trucks and other commercial vehicles (CMVs) to 97,000 pounds from the current limit of 80,000 pounds, […]

Missouri Family Awarded $7 Million in Fatal Tractor-Trailer Accident

The family of a tractor-trailer driver who died in a 2008 Arkansas truck accident has been awarded $7 million by a federal jury.  The fatal crash between two tractor-trailers occurred when a truck owned by Dunaway Timber Co. crossed the center line hitting the other truck head-on.

The lawsuit alleged that Dunaway’s driver was fatigued after driving longer than the U.S. Department of Transportation rules allowed.  The driver also was inexperienced and had a “horrible driving record,” according to the lawsuit. Both the driver and Dunaway Timber were found liable.

Maverick Transportation, which employed the deceased driver, sued Dunaway because of damage to their truck. They were awarded $93,000.
About Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys

Munley Law is a Pennsylvania accident and injury law firm that represents car accident victims and their families throughout the state of Pennsylvania and the Northeast, […]

Kentucky Woman Awarded Over $800,000 in Tractor-Trailer Crash

A Kentucky woman was awarded more than $800,000 by a Vanderburgh Superior Court jury for injuries she suffered in a 2008 vehicle accident with a Fat Boys Trucking semi.  The tractor-trailer driver was cited for disregarding a traffic signal after he ran a red light at U.S. 41 and Indiana 57 in Evansville, KY and struck the woman’s van.

The woman has been unable to work since suffering knee and shoulder injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident, according to her lawyer.  The lawsuit was filed seeking compensatory damages against the trucking company.

The woman was traveling westbound on Indiana 57 attempting to turn south onto U.S. 41. when her Dodge Caravan was struck by the semi as it came through the traffic light.  The woman’s van then went to the left, overturning on its side. The truck was hauling over 100 cattle from Kentucky to Kansas.  […]

PATCO to Pay $10 Million in Crash Settlement

After only twenty minutes into a car accident trial last week, a recess was called and the two parties came to agreement on a $10 million settlement to be paid by the Port Authority Transit Corp. (PATCO).   The transit authority had admitted before trial that its truck driver was liable for the collision.

A 55-year-old Berlin, NJ man was driving to work in July 2007 when he was struck by a PATCO truck in Philadelphia, PA.  The man had just crossed a bridge into Philadelphia when the PATCO driver ran a red light and shoved the man’s vehicle into a median strip.  The accident resulted in shattered bones and a broken ankle to the driver.

The man has since undergone 12 surgeries and a painful debriding procedure to try to rid the leg of a serious infection which had begun to cause his flesh to rot.  […]

Family Awarded $7 Million in Wrongful Death Claim

Man volunteered to drive church bus, gets hit and killed by tractor trailer

A widow and her two sons were awarded $6.7 million by a jury in Fresno County, California in the death of her husband who was struck by a tractor-trailer while filling the bus he had been driving with fuel.  The wrongful death award also included over $500,000 for a nephew who witnessed the accident and has suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The deceased had volunteered to drive the Sierra Pines Church of Oakhurst bus.  When he pulled over on the side of highway State Route 99 in Merced County to put fuel in the bus in April 2009, two approaching semis “became entangled as one attempted to pass the other.”  One of the trailers hit the man and the bus.

Lawyers presented testimony, which led to a verdict well beyond the $3 million offered as settlement, […]

Boy Died in Tractor Trailer Crash as his Mother Fled Police

Woman flees from police and hits tractor trailer killing 8 year old son

Kansas City Boy Dies in Tractor Trailer Crash as His Mother Flees from Police

A Kansas City mother driving a Kia Optima, with her two children as passengers in the rear-seat, was fleeing from the police and slammed into the back of a tractor-trailer killing her 8-year-old son.  The police had tried to stop the mother only minutes earlier after she almost hit them while they were conducting a traffic stop. She initially stopped, and then as police approached her car, she sped away – the police abandoned the chase and were not pursuing her at the time of the wreck.  The mother is left with life-threatening injuries.  Her 11-year old daughter suffered minor injuries.

CHP Officer Dies in Car Accident

California Highway Patrol Officer Thomas Adams was killed Tuesday in an automobile accident on Highway 101 in California.  […]

Preliminary Truck Crash Data For 2009 Released

Preliminary statistics on 2009 tractor trailer crashes have just been released. The Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts: Early Release is based on crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as well as preliminary total vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data from the Federal Highway Administration.

Among the highlights:

• Of the 286,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks in 2009, 2,987 (1 percent) resulted in at least one fatality, and 51,000 (18 percent) resulted in at least one nonfatal injury.

• Single-vehicle crashes made up 20 percent of all fatal crashes, 16 percent of all injury crashes, and 35 percent of all property damage only crashes involving large trucks.

• Almost two-thirds (64 percent) of all fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred on rural roads, and just over one-fourth (26 percent) occurred on rural and urban Interstate highways. […]

$6.5 Million Awarded in Deadly Tractor Trailer, Pick-Up Truck Crash

Tractor trailer driver and farm at fault for fatal accident

Two years after a 32-year-old woman was killed when a tractor trailer rear-ended the pick-up truck in which she was riding, her family has been awarded a $6.5 million award in their wrongful death lawsuit, reports the Courier-News.

On Halloween, 2008, the East Dubuque, Illinois woman, her husband, and their 3-year-old son were on the way to Goebbert’s Pumpkin Patch when a tractor-trailer rear-ended their pick-up truck, killing the wife instantly.  Her husband suffered a broken spine, facial fractures, and respiratory failure and their son suffered two broken legs, head injuries and lacerations.

The lawsuit alleged the driver of the tractor-trailer was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs, driving over the speed limit and failing to keep a proper lookout.  It was learned the owners of the tractor-trailer, […]

$65 Million Verdict In 2007 Tractor-Trailer Crash Upheld By Appeals Court

Tractor trailer company found at fault for young woman’s permanent injuries in crash

Considered to be one of the largest in Polk County, Florida, a $65 million verdict for a woman injured in a 2007 traffic crash was upheld by the 2nd District Court of Appeals, reports The Ledger of Lakeland, Florida.

In 2007, the 19-year-old was driving her Dodge Neon when she was struck by a tractor-trailer at an intersection.  An eyewitness to the accident testified the young college student had the green light.

A typical fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh close to 80,000 pounds, while an average passenger automobile weighs only 3,000 pounds. Due to this size disparity, and the basic laws of physics, any collision between a commercial truck and another vehicle is likely to result in serious, even fatal, injuries. If you, or a loved one, has been injured in a commercial trucking accident, […]

Businesses and Western Governors Press to Increase Truck Weight and Size Limit

Increase would cause drastic spike in truck accident fatalities

More than 150 companies, including Kraft, Coca Cola and MillerCoors, are lobbying Congress to increase the weight limit on trucks traveling interstate highways, The Wall Street Journal reported on August 16.

The companies would like to increase weight limits from 80,000 to 97,000 pounds, or almost 20%.

At the same time, a coalition of Western state governors is asking Congress to allow more doubles and triples – multiple tractor trailers hitched together, that can span up to 120 feet – on the federal highways in their states. Current law limits trucks on the interstate to no more than 53 feet in length.

When it comes to accidents, there is a strong correlation between the size of the truck and the severity of the accident. A study done by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute showed that a truck weighing 80,000 pounds is 50%-100% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a truck weighing 50,000 to 65,000 pounds. […]

$3.5 Million Awarded In Wrongful Death Logging Truck Accident

Speeding truck with faulty brakes causes fatal trucking crash

A Chilton County, Alabama jury has awarded $3.5 million to the family of a man killed when the van he was driving was crushed between two logging trucks, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.

Ken Gorum Trucking and Gary Fruge, the driver of the logging truck, were held responsible for the accident and have been ordered to pay the award. The jury found Fruge was speeding, and the truck had defective brakes, when it crashed into the victim’s van.

The victim’s car was pushed into the logs on the truck in front of him, causing the logs to come through his windshield – one went through his head and killed him. Although the driver claims he was going only 45 miles per hour, evidence suggests he was traveling between 65 and 75 mph.

Progressive Insurance Co, […]