Northern California Injury Lawyer Blog

As Monday morning’s events indicate, even the law’s best attempts at public safety are often not enough to protect individual welfare. Mandatory reverse warning signals on commercial vehicles, for example, are of little consolation to friends and family of Jose Mario Gonzalez, who was killed when a garbage truck ran him over as it was backing up.

The truck accident occurred at approximately 7:50 a.m. on Bridgeway Street in Sausalito as Mr. Gonzalez was crossing the street on his way to work at a nearby restaurant. In this case, the facts so far offer no evidence that either party was overtly breaking the law—according to the investigating police officer, the truck appears to have been in full compliance with state safety regulations, and Mr. Gonzalez was not crossing the street illegally. Rather, the accident seems to have been the result of those factors which no safety law can eliminate: misapprehension of risk and simple human carelessness.

As the summer months approach and many of you begin traveling, please keep in mind that many disasters on the road can be averted by careful attentiveness to the vehicles around you.

For more information on our firm, please contact us at 800-840-2111.

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The San Jose Mercury News reported on a devastating crash on the Peninsula earlier this month.

A jackknifed big-rig struck the center median on Highway 101 in Redwood City created a shower of concrete upon impact prior to catching fire. Several chunks flew through the windshield of an SUV, severely injuring the driver. A young woman in the passenger seat was also taken to the hospital.

The big-rig was only traveling at about 55 mph, and was in the slow lane, but its driver lost control and jackknifed for reasons that the CHP has yet to ascertain. Both the truck driver and his passenger did not suffer any injuries. The front portion and about half of the big-rig, which caught on fire, burned for several hours after the crash, according to the Mercury News report.

The truck apparently belonged to Travis Berry Transportation of Gilroy. The company’s owner said this was the worst accident in the trucking company’s history, and confirmed that the driver who caused the accident had only been with the company for a month. The accident led to complete gridlock, shutting down both sides of 101 for hours. CHP officials remarked that it has been several years since even one direction of the highway has been shut down for such a lengthy period.

Despite the fact that the driver appeared to be obeying the speed limit and displaying courtesy to other drivers by using the far right-hand lane, this accident serves as a reminder to give plenty of leeway to big-rigs at all times when you’re driving on freeways or other high-speed roadways.

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A truck full of beer overturned early Friday, resulting in a prolonged backup on the westbound 10 Freeway in Ontario. The accident appears to have been caused by the truck’s driver, who fell asleep at the wheel, according to a news report posted on the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin’s Web site .

The truck careened off the right shoulder of the 10, overturning near Milliken Avenue in the early morning hours. The driver, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries in the incident.

The cleanup of the beer, which took three tow trucks and a flatbed truck, lasted until around noon on Saturday, officials said.

Continue reading "Sleepy Driver Causes Truck Loaded with Beer to Overturn on Freeway" »

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It's been a few weeks, but it's still easy to goggle at these images of what happened when an oil tanker loaded with 8,600 gallons of gasoline ran into a support pillar near the San Francisco Bay Bridge and caught fire. The heat from the fire literally melted the freeway. Fortunately, the accident took place very early in the morning and nobody was seriously hurt, though of course traffic was seriously disrupted. However, we can only imagine what could have happened if the truck accident had taken place just a few hours later, during morning rush hour.

News reports say the state of California is pushing very hard to get this bridge rebuilt for the thousands of commuters who use it each day. A rush job like that won’t be cheap. Depending on the results of the accident investigation, the liability for the repairs could fall on the driver, the trucking company that employed him, or both. News reports tell us that the driver, James Mosqueda, has a history of using drugs but had been clean for years before the accident and was not under the influence of anything at the time -- though he may have been driving too fast. However, the trucking company, Sabek Transportation Inc., has a more relevant history: it has failed six out of nine safety inspections of its trucks in the past year alone! The problems turned up by the inspections included bad tire tread and brake pads, both very common safety issues for large trucks. These issues may not have contributed to the accident, but could be damaging to the defense if the State decides to pursue a lawsuit against Mosqueda or Sabek. And it looks like that's a distinct possibility. Sabek may be liable for the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to repair the damage to the MacArthur Maze, state officials said Monday.

CalTrans Director Will Kempton said the agency will pursue damages if the CHP investigation determines that the driver or company were negligent in the crash.

CHP spokesman Officer Trent Cross said, "Ultimately someone is going to pay for this. Our investigation will tell you what happened, but we leave it to CalTrans and the lawyers to determine how any liability questions are settled." That's a big burden for a small company. Let's hope other trucking companies take it as evidence that safety matters -- financially as well as in terms of human lives.

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