Michael Leizerman’s Blog

State trucking laws vary, and the need for qualified truck accident attorneys to understand all facets of a particular litigation is imperative. I have handled numerous truck accidents throughout the United States, many of them similar to those noted below. Please feel free to contact me michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

TheDailySound.com reports that three people including a child were killed when a big rig lost control coming off Highway 154 in Santa Barbara and slammed into the home where they were sleeping. The driver of the gravel-filled tractor-trailer managed to avoid a restaurant and a hotel but then rear-ended two cars before dropping 15 feet down an embankment before hitting the residence. The truck wreck, which happened just before 7am on Tuesday, August 24, also took out the neighborhood’s power and caused a gas leak.  A neighbor said, “It sounded like a train accident. There were no braking sounds, no resistance.”

TheNews-Messenger.com reports that a tractor-trailer hit and killed a pedestrian just after 1am on Thursday, August 26, in Milan Township, Ohio.  The big rig was heading north on US 250 near Mason Road. The pedestrian was declared dead at the scene.

Herald-Mail.com reports that a dump truck backed over a woman and killed her as she sat on her motorcycle. Having missed his turn into a construction site, the driver stopped, checked his mirrors, saw nothing, and then backed up. The woman, 48, who’d apparently been waiting for the truck to move, died as it crushed her. The truck accident happened at 7:32am on Thursday, August 26, in the 200 block of Commerce Avenue in Antrim Township, Pennsylvania.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that a trailer-less semi hit and mortally injured a bicyclist riding to work on Friday, August 27. The accident happened just before 6am as the truck was turning right onto westbound 2100 South. When the cyclist crossed the intersection, also heading west, the truck driver apparently didn’t see him — but later reported he’d felt an impact. Yet he dragged the cyclist about 130 feet before stopping to investigate. The cyclist, 47, was severely injured and died in the hospital later that day, leaving a wife, eight children, and two grandchildren.

MyFoxPhoenix.com reports that a big rig hit and seriously injured a motorcyclist, then sped off about 8pm Friday, August 27.  The truck accident happened in the 1700 block of NW Grand Avenue in Phoenix. Two other motorcyclists at the scene were not hurt. The driver returned to the scene later, saying he hadn’t realized there had been an accident until he stopped to unload his cargo.

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Trucking litigation is very document-intensive and governed by hundreds of regulations. Given this, the need for qualified truck accident attorneys to understand all facets of litigation is important. I have handled numerous truck accidents throughout the United States, many of them similar to those noted below. Please feel free to contact me at michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

Cleveland.com reports that a big rig pulling three trailers rear-ended a passenger car heading eastbound on I-80 near Streetsboro, Ohio. The truck pushed the car into a freight truck and then into four more vehicles before a concrete barrier brought the disaster to a halt. The car went up in flames, and the driver was killed on the scene. Her teenage sons were hospitalized in critical condition. This truck accident happened just before noon on Monday, August 16.

Heraldonline.com reports that a truck driver died and two women were hospitalized on Monday, August 16, when a tanker truck carrying gasoline flipped, crashed, and burst into flames on I-77 South near Fort Mill, South Carolina. In the crash, the truck hit and landed on a sedan, but the two women in it were pulled from the wreckage and sent to a Rock Hill hospital. They were released the same day.

Oregonlive.com reports that a tractor-trailer loaded with wood chips on US 101 North lost control and slid across the opposing lanes, hitting a Ford Focus, then pushing a Nissan Sentra into a guardrail before crashing into a scenic pullout north of Florence, Oregon. The truck crash, which happened Wednesday, August 18, at about 10:15am, sent a pregnant woman and her husband (in the Focus) to the hospital, shook up a Swiss tourist (in the Sentra), and dumped a mountain of wood chips onto the highway.

Floridatoday.com reports that just before 2am on Thursday, August 19, a dump truck heading north on I-95 suffered a tire blowout, lost control, and crossed the median before coming to rest in the southbound roadway. The driver and a passenger managed to get out, but minutes later, a van hauling motorcycles slammed into the truck. That driver died on impact.  No skid marks were found, suggesting that he never even saw the dump truck. This deadly truck wreck happened on southbound Interstate 95 north of Stuckway Road in Mims, Florida.

Chicagotribune.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a Corvette on Chicago’s Bay Bridge westbound just before 5pm on Friday, August 20. The car driver was Medevacked to a local ER with non-life-threatening injuries.

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It takes a little fire in the belly to fight with truck companies and insurance companies day in and day out. I get personally offended when, for example, an insurance company offers a pittance when one of their insured’s vehicles crosses a centerline and kills somebody’s mother. But being passionate alone is not enough. The best way to beat the truck companies is old-fashioned hard work. Please feel free to contact me at michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

ABC 6 On Your Side reports that a semi slammed into a Ford Focus on U.S. 23 in Pickaway County, Ohio, killing a passenger in the Ford and injuring its driver. The Ford was entering a Wal-Mart parking lot when the truck crash happened. The Ohio Department of Transportation is working with Pickaway County Sheriffs officials to investigate the truck accident.

Tracy Press reports that a semi-truck slammed into a minivan on Grant Line Road in Tracy, California, injuring three people including a child who was trapped inside the van following the truck crash. The accident occurred at an intersection whose traffic signal lights were out due to a power failure. Tracy Police pointed out that when a traffic light fails the intersection becomes a four-way stop. They are continuing their investigation of the truck accident at this time.

TheINDYChannel.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a passenger vehicle on State Road 37 near Bloomington, Indiana, killing the car’s 31-year-old driver. The passenger vehicle was slowing to pull into a gas station when the big rig crashed into it from behind. A passenger in the car was transported to a local hospital with a bone fracture, lacerations, and severe cuts. Police investigators are continuing to review the truck accident.

St. Tammany News reports that an 18-wheeler crossed the median on Interstate 59 north of Pearl River, Louisiana, entered the opposite flow of traffic, and crashed into a Dodge Ram pickup, killing four people in that pickup. A spokesman for the Louisiana State Police stated that it is believed the right front tire on the semi blew out or came loose, causing the big rig’s driver to lose control and cross the median. The impact of the truck crash mangled the pickup truck beyond recognition.

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State trucking laws vary, and the need for qualified truck accident attorneys to understand all facets of a particular litigation is imperative. I have handled numerous truck accidents throughout the United States, many of them similar to those noted below. Please feel free to contact me michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

Mansfield NewsJournal.com reports that a semitrailer failed to stop for traffic flagged to a stop on Ohio 13 north of Richland County, Ohio, and slammed into at least nine vehicles before coming to rest in a field where it burst into flames. Several people, including children, from several of the vehicles were injured, some very seriously. Ohio Highway Patrol officers reported that no citations were issued, but that the truck accident investigation is ongoing.

Vcstar.com reports that a tractor-trailer rig pulled in front of a van on the Pacific Coast Highway north of Ventura, California, causing the van to crash into the truck and injuring two teens in the van. The California Highway Patrol reports that the semi-truck was stopped on the shoulder and failed to yield when it pulled back onto the PCH. The driver of the van was trapped and was freed by firefighters. He was treated at a nearby hospital for arm and leg fractures and cuts and bruises to his head.

Jconline.com reports that a semi-trailer tipped over on U.S. 24 near West Lafayette, Indiana, crushing a minivan and injuring its driver. The truck crash was caused by excessive speed as the driver of the big rig took a curve at high speeds, causing his semi-trailer to overturn. Indiana State Police cited the big rig’s driver for driving too fast for conditions.

Omaha.com reports that a semitrailer truck crashed into a turning vehicle on Highway 15 north of Schuyler, Nebraska, killing a passenger in the vehicle and critically injuring the vehicle’s driver. The truck accident is under investigation by the Colfax County Sheriff’s Office and the Nebraska State Patrol.

The Denver Post.com reports that the driver of a big rig caused an accident on I-70 in Mesa County, Colorado when he placed reflective emergency triangles on the roadway, causing a car to overturn in its attempt to avoid them, and resulting in the death of a passenger in that vehicle. The Colorado State Patrol states that the big rig’s driver placed the emergency triangles in a traffic lane of the interstate rather than on the shoulder where his broken-down semi was parked. The triangles were around a curve. The passenger vehicle rounded the curve, swerved to avoid the triangles, overturned, and crashed into a second vehicle. The passenger in the first vehicle was thrown from that vehicle and died after being airlifted to a nearby hospital. The driver of the vehicle was also injured, but there is no word on her condition. The Colorado State Patrol reports that the driver of the big rig will face negligent homicide charges following this truck accident.

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Milk may do a body good, but surprisingly it can be a contributing factor in truck accidents. When a commercial tanker truck carries a liquid such as milk, it can make the vehicle difficult to control for a number of reasons. The tanks on tanker trucks are elevated well above the roadway, making such trucks top heavy and leaving their centers of gravity much higher than those of vehicles with lower profiles. This makes tanker trucks more vulnerable to rollover accidents. Liquid in tanks (often thousands of gallons of it) can surge forward and back during acceleration or braking and side-to-side when the vehicle is cornering leaving the driver struggling to control the vehicle.

To help control the surging of liquid loads, tanks are equipped with baffles. Baffles are dividers inside the tanks with openings in their tops and bottoms that allow the liquid cargo in the tank to move, but without the surging that takes place in a wide-open or smooth bore tank. However, there are major problems with baffles: they control only the forward and back surging of liquid loads and do nothing to control the side-to-side surge that can accompany cornering in tanker trucks.

In addition, baffles are not allowed in tankers carrying food grade loads. Because they are too difficult to clean, baffles could lead to contamination of foods such as milk and are therefore illegal on trucks carrying such loads, leaving drivers of milk trucks and other liquid food grade loads at constant risk of dangerous surges.

In one recent example of a milk truck accident, on June 7, a semi-trailer carrying a load of milk flipped onto its side and skidded into the ditch while traveling on U.S. 68 in Greene County, Ohio. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation into this truck accident and it is not known if surges played a part, but experience tells me it is likely. Luckily this accident occurred at an early morning hour on a nearly empty highway and no other vehicles were involved. The driver of the big rig received only minor injuries.

Unfortunately, as I’ve seen in the cases involving milk trucks that I’ve handled, such a lucky outcome is not always the case.

Drivers of trucks transporting milk and other food grade liquids need to be especially cautious when operating their vehicles. They must understand fully the safest way to negotiate turns; the challenges involved in starting and stopping a vehicle with a smooth bore tank; and the precautions necessary when driving such a vehicle into an intersection where a surge could carry the truck into the intersection despite the driver’s best efforts to stop.

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It takes a little fire in the belly to fight with truck companies and insurance companies day in and day out. I get personally offended when, for example, an insurance company offers a pittance when one of their insured’s vehicles crosses a centerline and kills somebody’s mother. But being passionate alone is not enough. The best way to beat the truck companies is old-fashioned hard work. Please feel free to contact me at michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

The Western Star reports that a semi-truck swerved in front of a passenger vehicle on Interstate 71 at the 36 mile marker near the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge in Lebanon, Ohio, causing the passenger vehicle to swerve, roll over and crash on the median and resulting in the hospitalization of the vehicle’s 23-year-old female driver. Troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol cited the driver of the semi-truck for an unsafe lane change.

NorthWest Herald.com reports that a semi-trailer crossed the center line on Route 14 near Harvard, Illinois, causing a motorist travelling in the opposite direction to have to swerve at which point that vehicle collided head-on with a second semi-trailer. The driver of the passenger vehicle was killed instantly in the crash. The driver of the first semi-trailer left the scene. Investigators with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Crash Investigations Unit are seeking that driver for questioning.

CBN.com reports that a semi-truck crashed up and over the front of a van carrying a church group on Highway 92 near Williamsburg, Kentucky, sending a pastor, his wife and several young people to area hospitals. Kentucky State Police are continuing their investigation of the truck accident that left the church van totaled and sent seven people to the hospital.

KPTV.com reports that a semitrailer and a passenger vehicle collided on I-5 near Seaside, Oregon leaving the driver of the passenger vehicle with extensive injuries. Washington State Patrol troopers responding to the scene initially reported that the passenger vehicle rear-ended the semitrailer, but the driver of the passenger vehicle disputes that claim. The driver states that the semitrailer cut him off and that his vehicle was sucked up under the semitrailer and dragged 400-600 yards down the interstate. Paramedics arrived on the scene and rushed the man to the hospital. Due to the conflicting accounts of the truck crash, Washington State Patrol investigators are continuing to investigate.

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On Thursday, April 1, the State of Ohio passed into law a two-year, $9.2 billion transportation budget, a budget that contains provisions permitting big rigs to travel the state’s roadways at 65mph rather than restricting them to 55mph as previous law dictated. The new speed limit becomes effective 90 days from signing.

The fact that Governor Strickland signed this law on April 1st is appropriate, as not only could it place Ohio motorists in greater danger of being involved in truck accidents, but it could also leave supporters of the change looking April foolish.

Prior to this move, Ohio was one of 11 states nationwide that restricted heavy trucks to the lower 55mph speed limit. States with truck speed limits lower than 65mph include Michigan, Illinois, California, Washington and Hawaii. In 2004 Ohio enacted laws that allowed heavy trucks to travel the Ohio turnpike at 65mph, but no other roadways in the state permitted travel at any speed above 55mph for those vehicles.

Proponents of the increased speed limit for trucks cite split speed limits as a serious danger and contend that uniform limits promote greater safety. They argue that a truck travelling 10mph slower than passenger vehicles is more likely to be rear-ended and that split speed limits create the potential for massive traffic tie-ups as big rigs clump together in slower lanes.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol disagrees. The OHP points to increased numbers of truck accidents on the Ohio turnpike since 2004’s raised truck speed limit as proof that with increased speed comes increased crashes.

I hope that I am wrong about this new law and that Ohioans do not suffer an increase in the number of truck accidents on their roadways. But my experience tells me that with the enactment of this law, it’s time for state and federal officials to redouble their efforts at maximizing enforcement of existing trucking safety laws to keep all those who travel Ohio’s roadways safe.

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Three Marine recruits were killed when a truck rear-ended them in Warren Township, Ohio on March 31st. Please keep the families of these young men in your thoughts and prayers.

The recruits, all Ohioans, were traveling on State Route 5, in Leavittsburg, Ohio, on their way to take their military entrance exams in Cleveland. Leavittsburg is about 25 miles northwest of Youngstown.

The passenger vehicle the men were traveling in was waiting at a traffic light before entering the intersection of Market and Burnett Streets in Leavittsburg around 3:45 p.m. when it was slammed into from behind by a pickup truck behind them that was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer, according to Ohio State Highway Patrol officials. The impact of the pickup hitting the recruit’s vehicle forced it into the busy intersection where it was struck by what Ohio State Highway Patrol officials describe as “several other vehicles.” Several people in the other vehicles were injured and were treated at local hospitals.

The head of the Warren Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, Lt. Joe Dragovich, stated that mechanical failure has been ruled out as a cause of this accident following a post-crash investigation of the big rig. Dragovich indicated that one of his questions for the driver of the tractor-trailer was whether or not he had been talking on his cell phone or texting at the time of the crash. The Ohio State Highway Patrol is continuing their investigation of this tragic crash.

In my experience, every truck accident has a cause. It now falls to investigators, law enforcement officials and qualified attorneys to help discover the cause of this accident so that justice may be served and also so that anything learned may be used to help prevent similar events in the future.

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It takes a little fire in the belly to fight with truck companies and insurance companies day in and day out. I get personally offended when, for example, an insurance company offers a pittance when one of their insured’s vehicles crosses a centerline and kills somebody’s mother. But being passionate alone is not enough. The best way to beat the truck companies is old-fashioned hard work. Please feel free to contact me at michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

Fox8.com reports that a tractor-trailer rear-ended a passenger vehicle on State Route 5 at Burnett Road in Braceville, Ohio, killing 3 Ohio Marine Corps recruits who were on their way to take their entrance exam in Cleveland. Two other passengers in the car were transported to local hospitals where their conditions are unknown. This truck crash is still under investigation.

Kentucky.com reports that an out-of-control tractor-trailer struck and killed two roadside workers at the intersection of U.S. 460 and KY 1499 in Pike County, Kentucky. The workers were part of a tree-trimming crew working in the area. Kentucky State Police have charged the driver of the truck with two counts of reckless homicide as well as not having a valid driver’s license, not having a commercial driver’s license, having a radar detector in a commercial vehicle and not updating the log of his work hours.

BangorDailyNews.com reports that a tractor-trailer slammed into the back of a Maine Department of Transportation vehicle parked behind a road maintenance crew as protection on I-95 near Island Falls, Maine. The driver of the parked vehicle was injured and taken to a nearby hospital. Maine State Police are continuing their investigation of this truck accident.

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Consider this: A truck accident in, for example, Ohio may be complicated if the victim is from Florida, the truck driver is from Kansas, the truck is owned by a California company, the trailer owned by a Missouri company and the driver was hauling a load from California to New York. I have handled numerous complicated truck accidents throughout the United States and I am knowledgeable in the specifics of trucking law. Please feel free to contact me at michael@leizerman.com or call me at 1-800-628-4500.

Dispatch.com reports that a Cincinnati man died when a tractor-trailer lost control on I-71 south of Rt. 56 and ran over the victim’s vehicle, which was parked on the side of the road. The 47-year-old victim had stopped his car to assist his 75-year-old relative whose car had broken down. The 75-year-old was also injured in the crash and is in serious condition in Grant Medical Center. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the driver of the tractor-trailer was changing lanes when he lost control of his big rig, causing it to jackknife and strike the victim’s vehicle, pinning it beneath the tractor-trailer. The OSHP is continuing its investigation into the crash.

Morris Daily Herald reports that a man was hospitalized with back pain following a truck crash on U.S. 6 in Grundy County, Illinois in which a semi-truck slammed into the rear of his vehicle. Officials have ticketed the driver of the semi-truck for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.

NewsandTribune.com reports that a semi-truck filled with bricks struck a van head-on at the intersection of West Street Joe Road and Indiana 60 in Clark County, Indiana, leaving the van’s 29-year-old driver with facial injuries that were being treated at University Hospital in Louisville. Officials with the Clark County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the crash.

The Salem News reports that a woman sustained head injuries in a truck crash at the Route 114 exit of I-95 near Danvers, Massachusetts when a tractor-trailer smashed into her SUV, causing it to roll over before coming to rest in the roadway. Massachusetts State Police have taken over the investigation of the crash from the Danvers Police Department.

Today’s TMJ 4 reports that a Germantown, Wisconsin Police officer was injured when a semi truck crashed into his parked squad car on U.S. 41/45 near the Lannon Road off-ramp. The officer was on the scene assisting with traffic control following an earlier crash when the passing semi truck crashed into the squad car on the driver’s side, leaving the officer injured. The officer was taken to Community Memorial Hospital. Washington County Sheriff’s officials are investigating the crash.

NewsOn6.com reports that a 36-year-old Oklahoma man was killed when his vehicle was struck by an International box truck on Highway 266 near Verdigris, Oklahoma. The victim’s car was struck while making a turn onto the highway. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol is continuing its investigation of the crash.

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