Was terminated for this accident.

In Saskatchewan we are required by law to slow to 60 kph (37 mph) when passing emergency vehicles on the side of the road.
Purhaps a slower speed may have helped the situation regardless of what the law may actually require. And that's where they get you, as technically it is a preventable accident regardless of fault.

 

You were thrown under the bus, so to speak. Hang in there with TransAm until you find what you want. FedEx is through with you; that's just the cold hard facts of trucking. In a few months you'll find a great job and then wonder why you were so stressed about leaving FedEx.

FedEx and the contractor see a whiplash lawsuit coming, so they're cutting their losses by saying they fired the driver. The woman will win the lawsuit with an out of court settlement.

 

That s too bad,what did your boss say at the time he fired you?That other driver getting a ticket for unsafe lane change should have been proof it wasn't your fault.

 

Doesn't matter if he's at fault or not when the litigation starts. FedEx and the contractor will share in the payout to the woman. It's not right, but that's the way it is.

 

If they win then that's even more proof the driver wasn't at fault.I'd sue for wrongful termination.

 

Get over it guy, fedex can tell the owner to dump you and if the owner isn't willing to fight, then you are out and won't go back to FedEx.

I had the same issue, my driver was doing line haul work for ground and hit a deer, taking out the deer and causing some damage to the truck but it was deemed preventable by FedEx. I had to fight like hell to keep the driver on with fedex and just gave up, moved someone else into that company and moved the driver on something else.

I've known a few who were owner operators having their contracts terminated because of accidents that they consider preventable and left dealing with the fall out.

There is no suing for wrongful termination by the way. The contract is clear on the obligations of the owner.

The best advice this driver can get is get over it and find another company.

 

The woman with whiplash will win. She'll settle out-of-court. I'm familiar with some of those cases. One time a line of trucks was stopped on the interstsate in Arizona due to ice. A drunk Army officer rearended the last truck in line and received brain damage to where he's like a little 3 yr. old. A quick thinking lawyer was also behind the Army officer and immediately started taking pictures of all the trucks in that line. Every trucking company, even if they were 20 trucks ahead in that line, had to pay up because they were stopped on the interstate. All shared in the liability. The truck that was actually hit, that company paid the most. In all, millions of dollars in cash and lifetime healthcare. The jury wasn't allowed to hear that the Army would cover all the medical expenses for life plus a disability tax free pension for life. The judge ruled that wasn't relevant to the wreck so was not admissable.
Many many cases like that. FedEx is screwed and the OP will never work there again.

 

Why did they screw up?

They have to weigh the risk of the driver to the insurance to cover them. As an owner, there is a problem with keeping the driver if he was at fault which rear ending someone is hard to prove he wasn't at fault.

 

I didn't mean FedEx screwed up; I mean FedEx is screwed by the litigant even though it's not FedEx fault.
I saw one ridiculous case where I worked at a reefer company. Our driver was merging onto the interstate with a loaded reefer trailer, which is right by the terminal. A car rearended him and he sued the car driver for whiplash and won. Crazy case. The driver was hobbling around the terminal for weeks unable to drive, until the case was over. Once the case was over, the company let the driver go, probably because he refused to drive due to his fake injuries. The state is an "at-will" state so no problem firing the driver.

 

Find a better company and move on. Get a dash cam if you have not already, a good quality one. Make it your own. Find a cheap laptop to process video on site. A video is worth he said she said.

I won't get into doubles and this and that. Your post indicated a sense of what I want in a professional minding your second trailer with your options during the wreck. Remember that and try to cheer up. So they kicked you out. Fine. Big deal. Let's get you set up and rolling again. You were not cited or charged etc so.. that's good.

Be prepared to be served in civil court. It goes without saying people should carry civil liability in addition to home owners, car insurance etc.

In my world a wreck is never a good thing. But it creates an oppertunity sometimes to improve by changing companies and making a better future. Hang in there.