Non Preventable Incident

No, this was his first from over a year ago. The only other one happened when he was stationary on an interstate near an accident with fatalities and an emergency responder who was in a hurry for obvious reasons took off his side mirror. The emt walked over and apologized when the whole thing was over. I've asked other questions about mechanical truck issues that were mentioned to me over the past year (wow, son has learned a ton about mechanical truck issues in his first 11/2 years), but thankfully no other incidents (accidents technically) on public roads.

 

Thanks, now that you mentioned ambulance chasing, if I am remembering correctly, I think the father of the driver may have been a doctor, so that probably contributed to their decision to roll the dice and sue. If this turns into a contest based on who has the deepest pockets and can afford the best lawyer, the LTL will win that with both hands tied behind their back. I guess the only question is how far the LTL wants to take this vs. settling. This is obviously not their first rodeo and I would guess they already have their strategy mapped out. My son said he thinks his company is going to fight it, but I'm unsure if he's really had a chance to get the whole story at this point, that may just be a negotiating tactic on the part of his company. Son called the attorney yesterday as requested and left message, is planning to try calling again today when he gets to Ohio. So we'll see what happens. I'll circle back when I know more, thanks everyone.

 

Just closing the loop on this. The lawyer finally called my son when he was driving home from his terminal this morning and they had a long conversation. Thumbnail of what son told me is that lawyer said that most accidents are some percentage the 4 wheeler's fault and some the truck drivers fault, but it is the LTL company's (and lawyer's) strong opinion this was 100% the mercedes driver's fault and they are not going to settle, even if it ends up costing them more money to fight the suit, because company doesn't want to reward and encourage meritless lawsuits.

I was really glad to hear that. I work for a staffing company and that is how we handle fraudulent workers comp claims (you'd be surprised how much blatant fraud there is in workers comp...or maybe I'm just surprised because I'm a relatively honest person). Legitimate claims are no problem but we will pay a private investigator etc. when we suspect fraud because we don't want a reputation for being easy to rape.

Lawyer said he doubts that son will actually have to appear in court in NYC, but if it comes to that, it wouldn't happen until 2-3 years from now.

From everything that has happened over the past year, I am really thankful that son ended up where he is. No company is perfect, and every company (especially big ones) has some rotten apples in the bin, but this seems like a good place.

I'm a little concerned that son is thinking about saving up and going owner/operator. I think he needs more experience and a deeper understanding of the business. If he had had this accident within his own small business, I don't see him being able to fight it the way his LTL is. And I'm guessing they would just take his money (?) Not a good place to be. But WDIK, not much about the trucking business.