October 2023: Semi, Van Wreck

A Personal Injury Case Analysis:

A group of college aged adults were driving from Indiana to California. It was quite the adventure. Unfortunately, they would never make it. While heading west on I-70 in Kansas, near the Colorado state line, the Volkswagen van they were in was rear-ended by a semi.

I was one of the attorneys that represented a passenger in the van. At the time of the accident, she was sleeping on the top of a table in the back of the van. She never knew what hit them. The van was not in the best shape and could not travel at highway speed. Instead, at the time of the impact it was going significantly slower than the posted speed limit. The semi on the other hand was traveling above the speed limit. It didn’t appear to stop or slow down before colliding into the rear of the van.

Catastrophic Injuries:

The young lady who was sleeping in the van was thrown around the inside of the van on impact: she suffered a severed spine and was left paralyzed. She was flown from the scene of the collision to a trauma hospital in Denver, Colorado. There, she would undergo life saving surgeries. Unfortunately, she was permanently paralyzed.

Preserving Evidence:

Fortunately, a friend recommended that the family immediately hire an attorney. Once hired, we went to Denver to meet the family and to go to the scene of the wreck. We hired a retired Kansas State Trooper who was working as an accident reconstructionist. This proved to be an extremely wise decision. The trucking company had moved the semi-tractor and trailer out of the state within days of the wreck. The retired trooper assisted in communicating that fact to the state police and the truck company was ordered to stop at their current location.

The semi tractor-trailer had already been moved two states away. They were taking it to Texas when they were stopped. Once we were able to get the semi stopped, we were able to have it inspected. Based on the inspection, we found many defects. One of those defects had to do with its brakes and ability to stop.

Resolution:

Although no amount of money will ever be sufficient to compensate that young lady for the catastrophic injuries she sustained, we were able to collect the most that was available. That financial recovery was able to make a positive difference in her quality of life.

Lesson:

It is important to hire someone quickly after a wreck with a semi, bus, dump truck, or other commercial motor vehicle so that evidence can be preserved. In this case, that evidence was critical in getting the resolution for what was obtained.