Preventable accidents

Stuff happens. These companies have drivers so scared over "preventables" and other stupid terms.

You didnt have a major wreck. No one was injured, neither vehicle was damaged too bad it sounds like. No one is perfect, so why worry about getting fired? Yea you're gonna have a wreck on your record and that sucks, but being within your 1st year isnt a career stopper.

Biggest thing, learn from the experience. Figure out what you might've done wrong and don't repeat it. If the other person caused it, be aware if you're ever in that situation again.

 

depends on if with your company, you are still on probation or not, and i'm strictly guessing you are not.

even though both vehicles drove away, was anyone ticketed?

there can also be a lawsuit coming soon, for injuries.

have a sit down chat with the safety dept on your future, as we'd only be guessing.

 

You probably will have a lawsuit coming in the civil court side.

People have learned over the years self insured trucking companies pay up to 250K cash to avoid problems with THEIR insurance for YOUR preventable. It is very possible you will be sued as well. (I have been twice. First properly insurance paid the lady a new car, the second was a form of fraud and he was discredited as a narcotics addict.)

Those two stories vanished in a couple of years. Among other things. Particularly when one of those companies went out of business. So killed it permanently.

If I got dinged by a big rig as I have a couple of times in the past, the company will cut a small check to cover my losses in the shop. Nothing outrageous and they will know the unit number involved in it. As long our losses are covered with cash we leave them alone. They can get the money from that unit driver internally. or fire same.

We had a covenant O/O blaze by doing 100+ in what was then 60 in construction. Threw his gator off the trailer into our front end. The paint took a hit and the headlights were discovered not to work on that side. They cut a check and discovered on the satellite that the driver was indeed rolling in that particular location that day in traffic besides. A total preventable. I think they disposed of him. Did not take much more than a phone call from us. No trouble on our end.

They did not have cameras like we do today. A video would just show what happened and pay me. No fuss.

As a trucker you have to do everything you can to think twice before committing a 18 wheeler to moving. I think of it as a long horn trapped inside a china shop with fine glass ware inside stacked to ceiling. It is not getting out without causing quite some damage.

 

As much as she can get.

You will have a heavy knock on your home address door to be served. If you identify yourself the court agent will shove papers and say to you "You have been served" in a formal way and leave. No #### chat talk nothing. And there you are with a hot envelope full of charges against you from the plaintiffs lawyer suing on his or her behalf. In those papers will be indicating if your company has also been served or not.

If you fail to show up to the hearing or deposition prior to trial then it will proceed with a motion for summary judgement against you in the full award requested in the suit.

If you do not retain a lawyer to protect yourself you might as well get your wallet and start paying the plaintiff for a very long time.

Follow through what your lawyer requires of you until the trial is over. If there are certain facts that come up in a sworn pretrial deposition between you and plaintiff then it may or may not go to trial.

You are going to be sued for a lot of money and your plaintiffs lawyer will do his best to make you branded and ###### as the worst trucker in the industry and should be a made a example of and so on. You will get very angry. Before you do anything find a lawyer. Nothing else matters.

If you go to Trial have bankrupcy papers in your back pocket ready to go from your Lawyer. IF you lose and are awarding to the plaintiff say .. 5 million dollars etc and fees etc (Starting at 30%) to pay the plaintiffs lawyer costs etc then you file BK.

And that is that. You can only do this once in your life time.

Until the next time you hit someone in a big rig. Carry a go pro camera with you at all times. You have things like insurance fraud etc.

I had three accidents in total, all of them in cabovers. Two int he 80's and one in 2001 like I warned that employer will happen. None in a Conventional The first two suits were settled for one and toss for the other. And the third in 2001 was a check of 3000 paid to the car I hit. Because he had a computer where the left steer hit. The vehicle was worth nothing. I kept my job because the situation I was in that night was against all of us someone will get hit.

I will never drive a cabover again. Period. I dont care if they offer me a million in pay a month. Its just not going to happen. Too much risk for another car to be hit.

Thats my story anyway.

Wife failed to watch her speed on a short ramp about 15 years ago, she got sued which drags me into the fight as a marital asset, two people married = one.

Anyway eventually it never made trial because our lawyer dug up the medical report on the person that night claiming all sorts of whiplash etc. The doctors did not find anything to support such wild claims and so it never made trial. And this was car vs car. Private. (The worst kind.)

Lawsuits are very cold. A good lawyer will get you through it. Maybe without getting awarded against you (That is the best outcome) I am engaged in a civil suit myself and served the collector who sued me over a bill. He violated statuary laws not to seek judgement against my particular income. He will recieve a summary fast judgement against him for a staturay amount plus medical losses etc and my lawyer fees. I get a award fixed in law. And done.

I also get to keep the papers against any other collector stupid enough to sue. Most of my collectors dating back 20 years know the law and left me alone. Wrote off he bills. One exception Medical debts. Those have nothing protecting them. So they can take everything from you.

That is the other side of a lawsuit. Should you lose depending on the state you are in, your losses will include a percentage of all your wages (Gross not net) turned over to the plaintiff by your bank, and the sherrfi will show up to confisicate your extra house, extra car, extra boat and all property deemed valuables above a minimum out from inside your home. All of that will be liquidated an the income applied against the award to plaintiff.

It depends on the state you are in. Maryland for example allows the plaintiff to take all of your income each week except 144 dollars (This would be 1980's verson of the law) Things may have changed now. In Arkansas it's 25% leaving you with just 65% of your wages gross. (*There is 10 more % processed and kept as a form of insurance in case you quit your job forcing your plaintiff to sue you all over again for judgement from your new employer and bank.

We actually had losses in thosuands of dollars 20 years ago off someone who mooched too much. When we finally understood it was fraud we sued her. She quit her employer and emptied her bank before being served with the judgment award to us. After three years we took the losses against our taxes and improved our refund situation that year. So thats all done. Since we took it against our taxes as Capital LOSS... the plaintiff is free to go about her life. Such as it is.

Anyway. A preventable is bad enough It opens a door to a even worse situation.

 

U will be ok hun . i doubt they will fire you. Theres is alot of ppl out here that have done much worse to say the least LOL and they still have jobs.

 

WHO is “they”????

As soon as the accident happened, you should have been in contact with your people and they would have put you in contact with your claims people. The first thing that they would tell you to do is take pictures. Even if you are at fault.
Cover your ###!

“But Six, she was irate...”

But nothing. She’d get over it.