Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Truck Accident Leaves Live Turkeys on the Roadway
Thanksgiving is coming, but you do not expect to see turkeys on the road. Yet that is exactly what happened in a bizarre truck accident in Davidson County. The crash happened on Interstate 85, near Lexington, North Carolina. The accident involved a dump truck and a tractor-trailer and occurred in the early morning hours. The tractor-trailer was carrying live turkeys, which spilled out onto the roadway during the crash. One driver was hurt in the accident and was transported to the hospital.
Dump Truck Hit a Bridge
The dump truck driver was driving with the bed of the truck in the upright position at the time of the incident. The bed of the truck slammed into the Old 64 bridge when the driver tried to drive under it. The force of the crash caused the bed to separate from the truck. The driver of the tractor-trailer could not avoid the accident and crashed into the dump truck bed.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”
The impact caused the semi-truck to overturn, spilling a load of live turkeys onto the highway. The semi driver was hurt in the crash. The driver of the dump truck was cited for reckless driving. The N.C. Department of Transportation (NCDOT) was called to the scene to inspect the bridge. Two lanes of I-85 were closed for hours while the accident was cleared, and the bridge was deemed safe.
Truck Accidents are Dangerous.
Truck accidents can be much more serious than collisions with smaller vehicles. Semi-trucks are also called 18-wheelers or tractor-trailers and can weigh 80,000 pounds when full of cargo. Compare that with a standard SUV that weighs around 5,500 pounds and you will see that the semi-truck can be much more dangerous. Tractor-trailer trucks can also be difficult to control, and the driver must be properly trained and have experience. In this particular incident, we do not know much about the dump truck driver, but we do know that he was ultimately cited for reckless driving.
Reckless Driving is a Form of Negligence
In North Carolina, a driver can be held accountable for an accident due to his negligence. Drivers have a duty of care to ensure the safety of others on the road. In order to file a successful claim against a driver in a crash you must be able to prove that the driver was negligent and that you suffered injuries as a result of the negligent actions. It is important to note that North Carolina uses a strict contributory negligence standard. This means that you can only collect compensation in cases where you were not at all negligent. You may file a claim regardless of whether the other driver received a traffic citation or not. In this case, the dump truck driver did receive a ticket for his negligent actions.
If you were hurt in a truck accident that was not your fault, you may be owed compensation for your damages. Call us today at Arnold & Smith, PLLC at (704) 370-2828 to request a consultation to talk about your case.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
Overturned cement truck shuts down I-85 in Charlotte, NC | wcnc.com
negligence | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)
Image Credit:
Turkey Free Photo Download | FreeImages
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