The following information is an excerpt of a presentation given to the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys by plaintiff's lawyer Kevin Coluccio. I have taken the depositions of many motor carrier Safety Directors. As I became more experienced and knowledgeable, I developed the skill of questioning defendant witnesses in such a manner as to make [...]
Last week, the Washington Supreme Court issued a ruling in the ongoing litigation between the State and trucking companies regarding the collapse of the I-5 Skagit River Bridge in 2013. Washington Supreme Court tells trucking companies, not WSDOT, to pay for I-5 Skagit bridge collapse While Judge Steven Gonzalez’ reasoning was not completely sound and [...]
During my legal career of over 30 years, I have seen and handled a countless number of jackknifed tractor trailer crash cases. Nearly all of them have involved life altering or fatal injuries. Big semi-trucks are a common sight on our public roads. Although they are a vital part of our transportation system, they can [...]
Train traffic near Lacey, Washington was stopped for several hours on Tuesday after a semi-truck crashed into a train trestle . Last month, a dump truck weighing approximately 15,000 pounds vehicle collapsed an "old, rickety bridge" in Snohomish County. Neither of those crashes should have happened. More and more often, I am seeing these reports [...]
Recently, I read about the truck driver that ran into several stopped vehicles in Colorado. People described the crash scene, where 4 people were killed, as “true carnage.” Many were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. The descriptions reminded me of a 2017 rear-end semi crash in Illinois, where 1 man was killed and [...]
On a dry and clear afternoon in July, an airport shuttle bus was headed north on International Avenue. A passenger car driver in the southbound lanes swerved over the median, and hit the side of the bus. One of the shuttle bus passengers was killed. Seven other people were injured. The fatal shuttle bus crash is [...]
On Monday, August 19, 2019, a dump truck owned and operated by Barrett Services, lost its brakes. It sped downhill through the streets of Seattle, hitting a pedestrian and then several cars causing injuries to 5 people. It could have been worse. U.S. Department of Transportation records show that Barrett Services of Mill Creek, Washington, [...]
Last week, I was in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The weather was mostly nice and comfortable, but one day, a thunder storm warning was issued. The warning stated that 70 mph winds were expected, with hail the size of marbles and both lighting and thunder. Sure enough, the storm came through as predicted. As I watched the [...]
There has been an "unprecedented uptick in fatalities" associated with recycling and garbage truck accidents crashes in 2019, according to the Solid Waste Association of North America. That's alarming, even as a preliminary number, because garbage trucks are already among the most dangerous heavy trucks. They are often out very early in the morning, when [...]
It could be one of the largest jury verdicts in the U.S. for this type of case—a wrongful death caused by truck driver negligence. 30-year-old Sara Allison of Boise was hit head-on and killed by a semi-truck on Highway 20 near Burns, Oregon. Her husband Matthew Allison suffered life-threatening and permanent injuries. The semi-truck driver had been [...]
