Cincinnati, OH — A dump truck and a semi-truck collided on I-71 this past Thursday afternoon (December 3, 2015) and left the dump truck driver with some injuries. Michael Mink, 29, was identified as the driver of the dump truck who was injured and Gerald Jean, 46, was identified as the semi-truck driver.
The accident happened around 1:00 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, along I-77 near Ridge Road’s exit.
It appears that Gerald Jean was driving a grey-and-white semi-truck combo along I-71 that afternoon when his lane ended and he was forced to change lanes.
Unfortunately, as Jean switched lanes, he cut off Michael Mink’s dump truck, causing a wreck between them. It looks like the accident caused Jean’s semi-truck to flip on the passenger side, but only Mink suffered any injuries.
Police said that they are looking into the accident further and aren’t sure whether Jean will face charges.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
I don’t want to jump to conclusions here, but it sure seems like this semi-truck driver was in the wrong for not paying more attention to when his traffic lane was ending. The fact of the matter is that truckers still have rights, even though they have different licenses than most drivers on the road.
If a truck driver (in this case, a dump truck driver) is injured by another driver in a commercial vehicle, the victim will likely retain the right to file an accident claim against the negligent driver — provided actual negligence occurred. But, I’m getting a little ahead of myself.
The main issue that I hear about from truckers is that their companies tell them, “If you’re injured on the job, you get workers’ compensation benefits, nothing else.” In reality, that’s true, but they’re talking about suing them in an accident scenario, which the law prohibits. However, it says nothing about filing claims in civil court against what we call third parties, or parties unrelated to the victim’s employer/company.
Now, don’t misinterpret me here, I’m not saying that I think someone here has a case or doesn’t have a case. I’m merely explaining a complex part of the law that some attorneys even get wrong sometimes.
— Grossman Law Offices
