Truck accidents are often lethal due to the size, weight and force of tractor-trailers. It is important to note, however, that truck drivers can be equally as vulnerable to injury or death after an accident. Recently, a Louisiana truck driver was struck and killed along the highway after he was involved in a truck accident.
The initial accident occurred when the 57-year-old truck driver was slowing to make a left-hand turn. During this time, a 22-year-old man driving another tractor-trailer struck him. The truck accident only caused minor damage to both tractor-trailers, but it was enough that the driver in the first truck decided to put warning triangles out by the road.
While he was placing the triangles, the truck driver was struck by a pickup truck driven by a 19-year-old man. He was taken to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries there. The other tractor-trailer driver received a citation for careless operation. The 19-year-old driver that struck and killed the truck driver has been charged with careless operation and negligent homicide.
Authorities do not believe that alcohol was a factor in this fatal truck accident. For the family of the deceased, there may be no solace or closure from the charges against the young driver. Under Louisiana’s personal injury laws, however, there may be additional recourse available to them. A wrongful death claim, if successfully litigated, could provide them with compensation for emotional distress, lost wages and funeral expenses. Such compensation cannot take away their pain, but it may provide a bit of financial relief during a tragic ordeal.
Source: landlinemag.com, “Trucker struck, killed while putting out warning triangles,” Kimberely Lennard, Dec. 27, 2012