Truck Accident

68,000 Pound Dump Truck Collision with Toyota Camry

We represented a family who suffered a devastating loss in 2006.  The family was based in Concord, Massachusetts.  There were four kids, all grown up, and parents, who lived in both Massachusetts and Venezuela.  In Massachusetts, they lived with family, including the kids’ grandmother and uncle.  It was a happy inter-generational family.

Unfortunately, a company based out of Acton was involved in this case.  The company was run by one brother, who leased a 68,000 pound dump truck from another brother.  They hired a friend of the family who had a horrendous driving history; a history of speeding, red light violations, and failing to stay in marked lane violations.  Then, they put this young man under pressure to bring loads of loam all day long from Acton to the North Shore, where they were undertaking a landscaping project.  With traffic building up in the afternoon, the pressure was on to make one last trip for the day.

That last trip was, unfortunately, our client’s last trip ever.  With a light clearly red on Route 2 east, the truck driver sped up, switched lanes, and drove through the red light.  Our client was the second car through the intersection, with a green light.  The front of the 68,000 pound tri-axel dump truck struck the driver’s side of the passenger car, killing our client instantly.

Commerce Insurance Company insured the dump truck.  They did not wish to negotiate.  They did not wish to sit down to resolve the claim after such a tragic event.  Notwithstanding dozens of witness statements, and a guilty plea by the driver, Commerce forced our client, the decedent’s husband, to file suit and undergo a deposition to testify as to his loss.

We attended all of the criminal court hearings against the dump truck driver.  Eventually, he pled guilty and was sentenced to incarceration for motor vehicle manslaughter.  We took his deposition in jail.

We also secured evidence from the witnesses.  We spoke to each and every one.   We secured affidavits and presented them to both the Criminal Court and to the insurance defense attorney in the civil case.  We retained an expert witness, an accident reconstructionist, who was ready to testify that this was the worse “penetration into the passenger portion of a motor vehicle” he had ever seen.

Furthermore, we took the depositions of everyone at the company.  We were suing for wrongful hiring and wrongful retention.  The company owner and the dump truck owner, brothers Grim and Grimmer, testified that they knew of their driver’s driving record and notwithstanding the facts in this case, they would still allow this driver to drive their trucks!  Their arrogance was appalling.  As a result, this case would not settle for the insurance policy alone.  We insisted on undertaking financial discovery of the defendants and demanded that they pay from their pockets personally.  They were forced to retain private counsel and to pay from their own pockets.

This case demonstrates that families need aggressive representation for serious cases.  The insurance companies will fight anything and everything, notwithstanding how obvious the facts are.  We are effective wrongful death lawyers.  We have represented victims of motor vehicle accidents.  Call us at 617-227-7423 for a free consultation.