Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog
A recent New England trucking accident took involved parties to the Oxford County Superior Court after faulty brakes were blamed as the cause of the accident. A Maine State Police Trooper recently testified in court saying that the truck’s brakes made the 2009 accident in West Paris much worse than it had to be, according to the Sun Journal.
In the wreck, a 60-year-old man was killed on Route 26 during that three-vehicle accident. The man’s family is suing a Sommerville woman who fell asleep at the wheel causing a large commercial vehicle to swerve and drive directly into the man’s car. The woman reportedly woke up just before crashing head on with a trailer-truck. When she served back into her lane, she hit the truck and broke a spring that was used to steer that truck. The woman was injured. The tractor-trailer swerved out of the way and into the Sommerville man’s vehicle after it failed to brake.
Our Massachusetts tractor-trailer accident attorneys understand that jurors recently heard expert analysis of the accident from Steven Thomas, an engineer who is oftentimes used in these types of trials to provide expert testimony. The man said that after looking at the fatal accident he concluded that it could have only resulted as a fender-bender if the truck’s 12 brakes had been in good working condition. He added that if the tractor-trailer could have stopped just 5 feet shorter that the impact to the Sommerville man’s vehicle could have been minimal.
The expert was also asked to look at the analysis of the accident that was provided by Midwest Price Co., the trucking company. The company argued that the truck was not traveling fast at all and the accident was a result of the road’s soft shoulder.
Thomas said the shoulder of the road would have caused the truck to flip to the left and not to the right like it did.
A Main State Trooper, Daniel Hanson, said that the truck didn’t have enough power in its brakes and that’s what contributed to the severity of the accident.
“Lack of proper braking aided in the trailer overturning,” said Hanson.
The trial will continue at a later date.
This accident is a perfect example as to why properly maintaining large commercial vehicles is so important. Traffic-related accidents with these big rigs can oftentimes turn deadly.
If you have been involved in an accident with one of these large vehicles and you believe that faulty equipment is to blame, it is vital for you to contact an experienced attorney. Companies are required to keep timely maintenance records for every vehicle and an attorney can help to retrieve this information.
Failing to keep trucks up to par on safety requirements and other safety standards can result in a serious accident and a costly litigation.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a traffic accident in the Greater Boston area or elsewhere in Massachusetts, contact Jeffrey Glassman Injury Lawyers for assistance. Call for a free and confidential consultation at (617) 777-7777.
Additional Resources:
Faulty brakes may have contributed to fatal crash, witnesses say, by Tony Reaves, Sun Journal
More Blog Entries:
Distracted Trucker Heading to Boston Slams into Amtrak Train Causing Fiery Accident, Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, September 27, 2011
Loose Cargo Kills Man in Somerville Trucking Accident, Boston Personal Injury Attorney Blog, September 23, 2011