Christmas day, 6 month anniversary of horrific truck accident

Four Tennessee families will have to spend Christmas this year without their loved ones. December 25 marks the half year anniversary of what is described by traffic officials as one of the worst truck accidents ever seen by them. On that day in June, six people lost their lives and six more were injured in a single truck accident.

For one Tennessee man, this Christmas will be particularly lonely. The accident robbed him of four family members – his wife, his two step daughters and his mother-in-law. They were on their way back home after the two girls were picked up from the airport by their mother for their summer visit with their mom and stepfather. The wife and two children of another of the victims will also miss their father this Christmas.   

Accidents involving large trucks are becoming more and more regular. The pressure created by a growth in the requirements to move bigger and more loads, aggravated by a growing shortage of drivers leads to inexperienced drivers having to drive faster and for longer hours on an aged interstate system, which is getting more and more crowded. The scales are easily tipped when one adds one more factor to the causes mentioned above – a reckless truck driver.

The investigation into the accident points to exactly such a deadly situation. The driver of the truck which plowed into seven motor vehicles on the fateful day had been on the road for much too long, having falsified his logbook. To make matters worse, he was driving under the influence of narcotics.  

In cases such as these, the legal estates of the deceased victims may choose to file wrongful death claims against the truck driver and the company he works for, while seriously injured victims of the truck accident may elect to file personal injury claims. Successfully litigated civil claims provide for the reimbursement of any related monetary damages. Monetary damages awarded from a successful claim could help the victims better cope with the unexpected expenses arising from the truck accident.  

Source: projects.timesfreepress.com, “Death on the Highway“, Shelly Bradbury and Alex Green, Dec. 19, 2015