Virginia Trucking Accident Attorney Blog » Shapiro

Driver Perishes in Fire When Two Tanker Trucks Collide

rshapiro — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:40:39 +0000

By Rick Shapiro, Trucking Accident Injury Attorney

Two tanker trucks collided and burst into flames on a freeway near Phoenix, Arizona (AZ) on November 9, 2011, killing one driver. The accident happened when a milk tanker rear-ended a tanker truck carrying about 7,700 gallons of diesel fuel.

The extreme fire caused police in the nearby city of Chandler to order the evacuations of at least two hotels and businesses alongside I-10.

As an experienced Virginia (VA) trucking accident injury attorney my thoughts are with the family of the deceased driver.

When flammable materials are being transported on the highway, there is always a higher risk that the consequences of a wreck will be tragic. That’s what happened in 2008 when a tanker truck went over an embankment near Roanoke, VA, and caught fire. Likewise when a tanker carrying liquid nitrogen rear-ended a car on an I-77 bridge over the Ohio River in West Virginia and sparked a fire that killed three members of a family.

Given the hazardous loads they are carrying drivers of tankers have a high responsibility to drive carefully. If they fail in this responsibility the driver or their employer can face a lawsuit. In 2010 two of my law firm colleagues secured a $3.5 million settlement for the family of a man who was killed in a fiery wreck after his vehicle was rear-ended by a tractor trailer.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Tolls Approved for Virginia Portion of I-95

rshapiro — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:56:26 +0000

By Rick Shapiro, Virginia Trucking Accident Injury Attorney

My colleague John Cooper has written a new blog post for our Virginia personal injury attorneys’ website in which he notes that federal authorities have approved plans to place tolls on the section of always dangerous I-95 that runs through Virginia. The move is expected to generate monies to fund safety projects on a highway that has seen a number of serious truck crashes.

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Should Cell Phone Usage for Truck Drivers Be Banned To Prevent Accidents?

jcooper — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 18:46:34 +0000

By John Cooper, Virginia Trucking Injury Attorney

A new report confirms that the truck driver responsible for a fatal Kentucky (KY) wreck that killed 11 people had placed a call on his cell phone immediately before the collision. That’s tragic and illustrates how dangerous distracted driving can be. But does that mean all truck drivers should have their phones taken away? Experienced Virginia (VA) trucking attorney Richard Shapiro examines that accident and others that result from distracted driving from cell phone use on his latest blog post our main personal injury website.

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Woman Killed After Truck Part Hits Her Car’s Windshield

rshapiro — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 14:09:58 +0000

By Kevin Duffan, Trucking Accident Injury Attorney

My colleague Rick Shapiro has written a new post on our Carolina personal injury attorney’s website about a Dallas, NC, woman who died after a leaf spring broke free from a dump truck went through her car’s windshield. The impact of the piece of metal likely led the woman to lose control of her car in the accident that claimed her life.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Safety Fears Prompt Dodge Ram Pickup Truck Recall

ebrannon — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:28:03 +0000

By Emily Mapp Brannon, Virginia Trucking Accident Injury Attorney

My colleague Rick Shapiro has written a new blog for our Virginia personal injury website about Chrysler’s recall of 286,000 Dodge Ram pickup trucks due to a defect that could cause injuries. News of this recall comes just days after a fire in an SUV that killed a sailor in Norfolk, Virginia (VA). The tragedy may have been caused by a faulty fuel line on a Chevrolet Traverse. Read more about how Chrysler has recalled thousands of trucks.

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Collision With Trash Truck Claims Life of Motorcyclist

rappleton — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:00:25 +0000

By Randy Appleton, Virginia Trucking Injury Attorney

My colleague Rick Shapiro has posted a new blog to our law firm’s Virginia personal injury attorneys’ website about how a motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a trash truck in Alexandria, Virginia (VA). This death on June 30, 2011, was the latest in a spate of fatal accidents involving motorcyclists in Virginia. Motorcyclists usually come off worse in crashes with heavy trucks.

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Seat Belts May Have Saved Lives in West Virginia (WV) Pickup Accident

rshapiro — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:27:08 +0000

By Rick Shapiro, Trucking Accident Injury Attorney

An accident involving a pickup truck in West Virginia sent two people to a local hospital, but the injuries may have been far worse or even fatal if they were not wearing seat belts, according to police.

Details of an accident in Spring Valley, WV, on July 4, 2011, were provided in the Herald-Dispatch. Reports said the driver of the truck “lost control of his vehicle and struck a guardrail, which split in half and came into the cab of the trucks.” A woman, who was a passenger of the pickup truck that crashed near the intersection of Spring Valley Drive and Sherwood Drive, was flown by helicopter to a local hospital. The driver of the truck was transported by Wayne County EMS, police said.

Ceredo Fire Chief Dave Caudill described the crash as a “ textbook case of seat belts.” He continued: “Had she not had that belt on to hold her in place, it would have been a worse situation.”

Caudill also told the Herald-Dispatch that a WV State trooper was the first on the scene and he kept the truck from falling over an embankment it was teetering over before fire crews arrived.

Our experienced Virginia personal injury attorneys are constantly stressing the importance of seat belts.

In a recent post on our Eastern Shore site my colleague John Cooper noted how a 17-year-old girl was tragically killed in a car crash on the Eastern Shore town of Accomack, VA back in early March 2010. She was driving on Upshurs Neck Road near Quinby Bridge Road when her car swerved off the road and hit a tree. Sadly, the teen apparently wasn’t wearing her seat belt.

Seat belts save an estimated 9,500 lives each year, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. However, only 68 percent of drivers wear their seat belt. We see this figure as a staggering one. If more drivers took the basic precaution of buckling up they might survive accidents they would otherwise perish in.

Certainly in the case of this accident in West Virginia, a seat belt appears to have been the difference between life and death.

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Crash Involving Pickup Truck Kills Teen in Union County, NC

rappleton — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 12:47:29 +0000

By Randy Appleton, North Carolina Truck Accident Injury Attorney

In his latest post to our Carolina personal injury attorneys’ website, my colleague Rick Shapiro writes about a 19-year-old passenger who lost her life in Union County, NC, when the car she was in was hit by a pickup truck. In this case, the fault does not appear to be that of the pickup truck driver, according to WCNC.com, but of the driver of another car who rear-ended her, pushing her car into the incoming traffic.

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Virginia (VA) Work Zone Accident Caused by Tractor-Trailer

rshapiro — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 21:29:23 +0000

By Rick Shapiro, Virginia Trucking Injury Attorney

Roadside workers must wince every time a semi barrels past them and wonder whether the speeding vehicle will crash into them. Many Virginia (Va) work zone accidents are avoidable, as long as workers, motorists, and contracting companies take the necessary precautions. Motorists should pay more attention and slow down when driving close to a work zone. Studies show that driving too fast is the leading contributing factor of work zone accidents, with rubbernecking also another leading cause. Both workers and motorists are at risk of getting hurt in work zone accidents.

This seemed to be the case today just south of I-81 at Exit 50, when a tractor-trailer slowed for construction then another struck it in the rear, knocking the sleeper and cab off the chassis. The VSP said there were injuries but didn’t know how many or what type. The crash is still under investigation. I hope the injured driver recovers swiftly, it is frustrating that he was doing the right thing by slowing down and was injured because someone else’s carelessness.

However this isn’t an isolated incident, highway work zone accidents have killed roughly 4,700 people — more than two a day — and injured 200,000 in the last five years, according to the New York Times .

So what can be done to curb this distrubing trend? Well first of all, workzones have reduced speeds for a reason: there are people out there, doing their job. That VDOT worker is someone’s son. Respect human life enough to slow down, don’t drive distracted and be patient. Arriving somewhere five minutes early isn’t worth injuring or killing someone.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm that focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly.

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Wrongful Death in Semi Crash Results in $5M Settlement

rshapiro — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 17:17:03 +0000

By Richard Shapiro, Trucking Accident Injury Lawyer

The widow of an Illinois (IL) attorney killed in a crash caused by a semi driver who failed to stop at an intersection of two state highways has received a $5 million wrongful death settlement from the health care company that owned the big rig and employed the driver. Fellow trucking accident victim’s lawyer, Robert J. Bingle of Chicago, told the News Tribune on February 25, 2011, that the victim “was a loving husband and a great father. He was a tenacious and passionate advocate for his clients and a very active man in his community. He is missed by many people.”

The fatal collision occurred on December 16, 2009, when the OSF St. Francis Healthcare Systems truck rolled through a stop sign and hit the car driven by Richard J. Berry. The truck driver was cited by police for disobeying a signal at a four-way intersection with stop signs at each corner. He may also have been speeding before the crash. Berry died at the scene of the accident.

Semis, tractor-trailers and other large commercial trucks take a long time to come to a complete stop. And, of course, the faster a truck is going, the greater the distance needed to drop its speed to zero. Truck drivers are trained to take these indisputable laws of physics into account when sharing roads and highways with cars and, especially, when approaching red lights, stop signs, turns or unmarked intersections. As the deadly crash in Illinois shows, however, even a single mistake or temporary lack of attention can lead to irreversible tragedy.

As a partner in a law firm whose lawyers have represented hundreds of victims of crashes caused by trucks, I have seen firsthand the devastation big rigs can cause when operated unsafely. My condolences go out to the woman who lost her husband in Illinois. At the same time, I’m glad that the civil suit she filed for the wrongful death ended with some measure of compensation and justice for her irretrievable loss.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm that focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly.

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