Follansbee, WV — Two people were injured earlier in October in the town of Follansbee, which borders Ohio. Police said that a semi-truck tried to make an illegal U-turn and crashed into an SUV, injuring two people inside.
The names of those injured in the SUV weren’t given, but the news reports confirmed that one of the victims was airlifted to a hospital in Pittsburgh. The accident happened on Wednesday, October 9, 2014.
An SUV was headed south along U.S. Highway 2 in Follansbee near the Market Street bridge when it came upon a semi-truck (also southbound) that was trying to make a U-turn. The SUV’s driver was unable to react in time and tried to avoid the truck, but crashed into the side of it.
The result was that a passenger in the SUV was taken to a hospital via medical helicopter while the SUV’s driver was less seriously harmed. The truck driver was not injured. Later, police said that they charged the truck driver with making an illegal U-turn.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
It seems like this semi-truck driver is completely at fault for 1) making an unsafe traffic maneuver and 2) making a U-turn where it wasn’t legal, let along safe. However, I want to warn my readers not to jump to conclusions just yet. Any attorney worth their salt will tell you that the trucking company behind this driver (the one that hired him or owned the semi-truck) will have a very heavy incentive to defend their employee.
Why is that and how? Isn’t the semi-truck obviously at fault? What’s to defend? First, the fact that this semi-truck probably has a sizable commercial insurance policy attached to it is reason enough for the trucking company to take an interest in the case. They don’t want to expose themselves, financially speaking, to any potential harm, so they’d rather try to fight it and make it seem as though someone else was at fault for the accident.
In this case, since there are only two vehicles involved, I wouldn’t be surprised if the trucking company tried to blame the victims here. A common argument is, “Well, you weren’t paying attention and should have stopped in time to see our truck, so the accident is mostly your fault.” I know that sounds strange, but it happens a lot in the commercial vehicle industry. The best way to hold them liable is to get a thorough investigation done ASAP and make sure that all the evidence is gathered before the trucking company has a chance to tamper with it or cover anything up.
— Grossman Law Offices
