Articles Posted in Bus and Truck Accidents

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Earlier this year, an Alabama bus accident claimed one man’s life and injured dozens of others. News sources at the time reported that the bus was carrying a group of high school students from Texas who were returning from Disney World. Suddenly, the bus veered out of its lane and ran off the road, down a steep ravine. The driver of the bus was killed in the collision, and several dozen students were injured.

Bus InteriorAt the time, there was no identifiable reason why the bus drifted out of its lane and into the ravine; however, the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) investigation has recently been completed and sheds additional light on the accident.

According to a recent news report, the NTSB investigation concluded that the driver of the bus was unresponsive prior to the accident. The report bases this conclusion on evidence that there was no sign that the driver tried to brake or swerve before traveling off the road. Currently, there has not been a determination as to why the driver was unresponsive. Further supporting this conclusion was the fact that there was no sign of mechanical failure.

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Last month, one man was killed and several others injured in an Alabama bus accident that occurred near the Alabama-Florida border. According to a local news report, the bus was transporting dozens of students and adult chaperones back to Texas after a trip to Disney World.

Bus AisleEvidently, the accident occurred at around 5:30 in the morning, when the bus left the roadway and crossed into the grassy median. As the bus entered the median, the driver lost control of the vehicle. The median abruptly ended into a steep embankment, and the bus plunged down into a 50-foot ravine, where it was crushed on impact.

The driver of the bus was killed in the accident, and dozens of students and chaperones were stuck inside the bus for hours until emergency responders could free them. In all, more than two dozen were hospitalized as a result of the injuries they sustained in the accident. Authorities began an investigation into the bus accident but have not yet determined what caused the driver of the bus to veer off into the grassy median.

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Earlier this month, an appellate court issued a written opinion in a terrible trucking accident that claimed the life of one man and left his family with serious emotional and physical injuries. The case illustrates the level of carnage truck accidents can cause and also the types of claims Alabama truck accident victims can pursue in the wake of an accident.

Truck CrashThe Facts of the Case

The plaintiffs in the case were several surviving family members who lost their loved one when he crashed into the back of a semi-truck that was traveling 15-18 miles per hour on the highway. The man’s son happened to be passing by the scene of the accident and recognized his father’s vehicle. The man’s son attempted to rescue his father but was unable to do so, and he sustained serious burns as a result of his rescue efforts. When the man’s wife found out about her husband’s death, she broke down and had to be hospitalized. She was unable to return to work as a result of her worsening depression.

The family members sued the defendant truck driver, that is, the estate brought claims under the Illinois Wrongful Death Act and the Illinois rescue doctrine, and the estate was successful in obtaining a jury verdict in their favor. The trucking company appealed, making several arguments on appeal, but the court affirmed the verdict in favor of the family.

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Semi-trucks are necessary in today’s economy. Indeed, these large trucks carry goods back and forth across the country on the nation’s highways. Most of the time, these trucks are operating on wide roads with high speed limits. However, as truck drivers approach their destination, they are usually required to operate their fully loaded trucks on city streets that are much narrower, slower, and tighter. This can present a challenge to even experienced Alabama truck drivers.

Semi-TruckNotwithstanding the challenge, semi-truck drivers are responsible to operate their rigs in a safe and responsible manner at all times. This means on all types of roads and in all types of weather conditions. When a truck driver’s negligence results in an Alabama truck accident, anyone injured in the accident can pursue compensation for their injuries through an Alabama personal injury lawsuit.

Proving an Alabama Truck Accident Claim

In order for a plaintiff to successfully bring an Alabama truck accident case, they will need to establish that the truck driver’s negligence resulted in the accident that caused their injuries. While this sounds simple in theory, there can be many roadblocks that arise along the way.

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