Family Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over Fatal Pole Truck Accident
The mother of a 28-year-old man who died after he collided with the back of a swinging pole truck load is suing the pole hauler, the pole maker, and the state of Oregon for wrongful death. Teri Stoffer is Jeffrey Little’s mother. The defendants in the truck accident lawsuit are truck company O’Malley Brothers Corporation, McCormick Piling and Lumber Company, the state, and the pilot car and pole drivers. Stofer wants the state to implement new rules that would prevent such a deadly truck crash from happening again.
Little’s death in 2008 is one of three pole-truck crashes to occur at the Intersection of Highway 30 and Bennett Road over a 5-month period. In April 2008, 82-year-old Evelyn Sanders sustained minor injuries during a collision with a logging truck. While truck driver Daniel Bunnell was turning, the pole truck swung out and a log crashed through her windshield. Two weeks after the deadly truck crash that claimed Little’s life, a third pole truck collision occurred at the same intersection.
All three large trucks involved in the accidents were headed for McCormick Piling and Lumber Company, located on Old Portland Road, and were turning onto Bennett Road when the collisions happened. In each case, a vehicle riding behind the pole truck collided with the swinging pole's load.
The truck crashes have raised concerns that the intersection’s basic design and the designated speed limits may have contributed to these collisions.
There are also questions about whether or not pilot car drivers are given enough training to safely operate their large trucks.
Mom of man killed in rig accident sues, Billings Gazette, October 28, 2009
Elderly driver injured when log crashes through windshield, Bend Weekly, April 4, 2008
‘Nothing was done to protect the public’, The Spotlight, September 24, 2008
Related Web Resources:
FMCSA
Wrongful Death, Nolo
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