$5 Million Truck Accident Lawsuit Blames Trucker for Bicyclist’s Wrongful Death
Six months after John R. “Jack” Yates was fatally struck by a large truck, his family is seeking $5 million in wrongful death damages. The 67-year-old bicyclist died after he got caught in the large truck’s back wheels. Yates was then run over.
According to the family’s truck accident complaint, trucker Michael Dale Chandler and his employer Potts & Callahan Inc. were negligent in causing Yates’s death. Surveillance footage shows the trucker turning right without activating his turn signal.
Even though investigators say that the bicyclist was at fault because he was biking in parking lanes and attempted to pass the truck from the right, the family’s truck accident lawyer maintains that the victim did nothing wrong because state law lets a cyclist stay as far to the right as possible and with the traffic’s flow.
Chandler did not stop his truck following the grisly truck accident. However, investigators say they don’t think that the trucker knew that he had struck Yates.
Getting caught under the wheels of any vehicle—especially a large truck, can be catastrophic for the pedestrian or bicyclist involved. Imagine the weight of thousands of pounds moving over your body. It is no surprise when a victim does not survive getting run over by a tractor-trailer, an 18-wheeler truck, a semi-truck, a garbage truck, or any other kind of large truck.
Although nothing can make up for pain and suffering of the victim, as well as the family’s grief, you may be able to get the negligent party to financially compensate you, which can help offset medical expenses, funeral or cremation costs, lost income, and other losses.
Family of bicyclist killed in city accident files $5 million lawsuit, The Baltimore Sun, March 5, 2010
Lawsuit Filed In Hit-And-Run That Killed Cyclist, WJZ, March 4, 2010
Related Web Resources:
Bicycle Crash Facts, Bicyclinginfo.org
National Crash Facts, FMCSA
