Warden, WA — A man suffered critical injuries in an accident caused by a semi-truck in Warden, Washington, on Thursday, February 12, 2015. The accident took place at the intersection of South County Road and SR 170.
Reports say that Ramon Mendoza was driving a semi-truck north on South County Road and failed to look for any oncoming traffic at the intersection of SR 170. When he came out into the intersection, he came into the path of a motorcycle being driven by Trinidad Valdez.
Valdez laid down his motorcycle and crashed into Mendoza’s vehicle. He suffered critical injuries and was taken to Harborview Regional Medical Center. At last report, he was listed in serious condition.
Police have been investigating the accident, and Mendoza has been cited for failing to yield to oncoming traffic.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
Trucking companies are notorious for defending bad accidents — even the ones they’re responsible for — so no one should ever look at an accident like this as open and shut. I once say a case in which a semi-truck turned in front of a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist didn’t have any time to react, crashed into the truck’s trailer and died. Police investigated the scene and found the truck responsible. So the victim’s family filed a claim against the trucking company, sat back, and waited for the process to run its course.
But that’s not what happened. The trucking company conducted its own “investigation” into the accident and “found” that the motorcyclist was speeding at the time. It then used those “findings” to deny the family’s claim. Even if a trucking company causes an accident like this, there is no law that says they have to make things right with the victims. As a matter of fact, one of the only things that usually convinces a trucking company to make things right is showing them that taking the accident in front of a jury is going to cost them more.
Proving a case like this takes evidence. And that means, a complete, thorough investigation of the crime scene. Preferably independently-run, that’s going to catch things the police investigation won’t. Are there trucking companies out there who handle these sorts of things in an honest and fair manner? Of course. But there are enough companies out there that don’t to warrant not taking any chances.
— Grossman Law Offices
