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Disclaimer: Every case is unique and past results do not guarantee future outcomes.
Three passengers were killed and their co-plaintiff driver was seriously injured in a head-on collision. Around dawn, the plaintiffs were on their way to work in their employer-owned vehicle. It was dark. The road was wet from the rain. The area where the crash occurred was a two-lane undivided roadway marked with double-yellow (no passing) lane markings and a slight curve in the road.
The defendant truck driver was operating a “bobtail” tractor-truck (no trailer) on his way to pick up a load. The point of impact was on or close to the centerline. Both drivers claimed the other crossed over the centerline while rounding the curve in the moments before impact. Eyewitness accounts were limited and had little value in establishing fault. The MAIT investigation found the Plaintiff-driver to be the sole contributing cause of the collision.
The trucking company, one of the largest in the country, retained counsel and expert witnesses within hours of the crash. However, the plaintiffs’ investigation showed that as the defendant truck driver approached the curve, he failed to decrease his speed, did not disable the cruise control feature, failed to maintain proper control of the truck, improperly drove to his left into oncoming traffic, and caused the crash.
Despite numerous discovery disputes over basic documents and burdensome confidentiality orders in other cases involving the trucking company, Plaintiffs’ counsel also independently obtained various undisclosed documents and transcripts of prior testimony which were used to demonstrate that the FMCSR violations the plaintiffs alleged to have contributed to the crash were consistent with the trucking company’s poor safety history and pattern of non-compliance.
The physical evidence, expert analysis, and thorough discovery ultimately supported the plaintiffs’ allegations. An inspection of the truck’s brakes showed several were out of adjustment. After several discovery motions, text messages between the truck driver and his relative were discovered that suggested the truck driver’s logs may have been manipulated. Also, a previously unidentified dashboard camera went missing soon after the crash.
Deposition testimony confirmed that standard truck driver safety training instructs truckers to steer right to avoid hitting on-coming traffic under the circumstances presented. Those matters, coupled with the trucking company’s pattern on non-compliance with the FMCSR and poor CSA scores, aided the plaintiffs in demonstrating liability against the defendant’s truck driver and the trucking company.
Bringardner Injury Law Firm represents injured people and families who have lost loved ones in truck accidents throughout South Carolina. If you have been seriously injured in a commercial trucking collision, an attorney can review the circumstances, explain your legal options, and help determine what evidence may need to be preserved.
Call Bringardner Injury Law Firm at 843-400-0550 or contact the firm to schedule a free initial consultation.*
Reviewed by Mark Bringardner, South Carolina trial attorney, and founder of Bringardner Injury Law Firm.
Bringardner Injury Law Firm | 41 Broad Street, Charleston, SC 29401 | 843-400-0550
Serving all 46 South Carolina Counties: Abbeville, Aiken, Allendale, Anderson, Bamberg, Barnwell, Beaufort, Berkeley, Calhoun, Charleston, Cherokee, Chester, Chesterfield, Clarendon, Colleton, Darlington, Dillon, Dorchester, Edgefield, Fairfield, Florence, Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Kershaw, Lancaster, Laurens, Lee, Lexington, Marion, Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Orangeburg, Pickens, Richland, Saluda, Spartanburg, Sumter, Union, Williamsburg, and York.
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