On Thursday, February 19, 2015, Bonnie Clark, widow of Wiley Clark, 72, hired the Law Firm of Pajcic and filed a wrongful death claim against Swift Transportation, the commercial trucking company, Walmart Transportation and the driver of the semi-truck, Wilbur Peterson.
According to the complaint filed by Pajcic, on June 22, 2014, Wiley was driving down US 301 in Hawthorne on Sunday morning last summer when a semi-truck lost control, crossed the median and hit Wiley’s pickup truck head-on. Wiley, a retired Chief Investigator for the State Attorney’s office in Gainsville, was fatality struck by the semi-truck. The semi-truck was traveling on a wet roadway and going 17 miles over the speed limit. It also states that the tractor tires were worn down to 1/32 of an inch and that the rear tires and breaks had uneven wear patterns and heat cracks which is a direct violation of federal safety standards.
The complaint also stated that the driver of the semi-truck, Wilbur Peterson, had worked 65 hours the previous week and was asked to drive 12 straight nights. Peterson was overworked and fatigued and Pajcic has the driver logs to prove it.
In a recent article we posted in November, a lawsuit was filed against Walmart by Morgan Tracy, the comedian. On June 7, 2014, Morgan, 46, comedian James “Jimmy Mack” McNair, comedian Ardie Fuqua and Morgan’s assistant, Jeffrey Millea were riding in a limo bus on the New Jersey Turnpike when they were struck by a Wal-Mart truck. Morgan was critically injured suffering a broken leg, nose and several ribs as well as a traumatic brain injury. Morgan’s friend and mentor, McNair were killed. All passengers were injured in the accident.
According to Tracy’s attorney, Benedict Morelli, the semi-truck driver was speeding and also fatigued and had been driving over 24 hours.
Semi-truck companies and drivers are required to follow strict federal and state regulations. They are also required to carry higher limits on their insurance policy.
When a case is based on a direct violation of federal law it will be tried in a federal court. If you can prove that a driver was fatigued and continued to drive more hours than is allowed by federal law, the driver is in direct violation of federal regulations. If it is determined that the driver, did in fact, violate this law, it may be enough to prove the negligence of the semi-truck driver. If the trucking company was also aware that the driver was in violation and they allowed him to continue to drive, they too, may be held accountable for negligence.
If you or a family member has been involved in a semi-truck accident due to the negligence of another, call Russell & Hill, PLLC at 888-656-8259 or you can fill out our free “Evaluation” form and we will have one of our attorneys call you to discuss your claim. You may be entitled to receive personal injury monetary damages for all your losses and expenses as a direct result of the negligent party.