Texas Injury Law Blog : Dallas Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death : Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Texas

According to Gastonia, North Carolina local news reports, Eric Fitzgerald Lee tragically passed away after a fiery crash involving two 18 wheelers on October 13, 2011 near mile marker 16 on Interstate 85 at approximately 1:47 a.m.  Early reports indicate that Mr. Lee's rig crashed into another Big Rig driven by Tomas Herrera of San Benito, Texas.  Investigations indicate that the impact pierced one of the fuel tanks on Mr. Lee's 18 wheeler causing a fiery explosion.  Our law firm's sincere condolences go out to the Lee family.

Legal Commentary

It is important that an independent investigation and crash reconstruction is performed in this case as soon as possible. Local news reports reflect that Mr. Lee crashed into Mr. Herrera's Big Rig. However, the main question in this case is why did the fuel tank explode.  18 wheelers should be designed to ensure fuel tanks are not susceptible to explosion.  An accident reconstruction and products liability expert will be able to tell whether the fuel tank's design was defective. It is absolutely essential that what is left of the 18 wheeler is preserved in its natural evidentiary state.  Although the family is mourning, an investigation should take place immediately to determine whether the fuel tank was defective or if a design defect existed. In other words, was there a safer alternate design that would have prevented the explosion, and in turn, perhaps saved the life of Mr. Lee. The family's law firm should have experience not only in 18 wheeler crashes, but with crashworthiness cases involving product design defects.  Routinely, my Law Firm is hired to immediately retain a products liability expert and an independent investigator to ensure the evidence at the scene is recorded. We also obtain witness statements and interview the officers that investigated to ensure nothing was overlooked. I hope the family in this case gets legal help from a competent wrongful death lawyer experienced with these defective design and product liability claims.

About the Author

Wrongful Death Attorney and Products Liability Lawyer, Majed Nachawati, is a Nationally recognized Super Lawyer and Top lawyer in Wrongful Death and Serious Personal Injury Cases involving commercial trucks and 18 wheelers. Mr. Nachawati has represented clients all across the nation. He has recovered millions for his clients and is a member of the Trial Lawyers Association, The Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the American Association for Justice. Mr. Nachawati can be reached by email mn@fnlawfirm.com or by phone at 1.866.705.7584. His legal background is featured below:

http://www.superlawyers.com/texas/lawyer/Majed-Nachawati/78072729-2862-44a2-bde9-aafdeed8dba0.html

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

According to wfaa.com, workers spent hours cleaning up after a massive, nine-vehicle pile-up on Interstate 30 in Arlington Sunday morning. An 18-wheeler carrying tons of hot dogs slid on the icy highway at 6:30 a.m. and toppled onto a pickup truck, killing Paul Smith. Police said at least five others were injured in the chain-reaction wreck, which also involved another 18-wheeler. "The semi with the red tractor came up on the accident scene and was unable to avoid all the cars across the roadway," said Arlington police Sgt. Kevin Brown. All lanes of an overpass just east of the accident location at Fielder Road were covered in ice; investigators believe that's what triggered the accidents.

Thoughts from attorney Bryan Fears:

Although ice on the roadways creates difficult driving conditions, the rules of the road are simple--drivers are always responsible for maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles.  In this case, it appears the driver of the 18 wheeler was negligent for failing to control the speed of his rig, which was the sole cause of the crash.  In past cases handled by our firm, 18 wheeler companies tirelessly try to blame the road conditions for the crash.  However, the most important plan of action is to ensure a proper investigation is performed.  This will allow planning for any unforeseen contingencies that may arise in dealing with potential issues raised by the defense.  An important factor is retaining a lawyer or law firm that has experience handling 18 wheeler crashes. My condolences go out to the family of Mr. Smith.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Early this morning, the Dallas Morning News covered an 18 wheeler wreck that resulted in two fatalities.   

"A driver and his passenger were killed when their car collided with an 18-wheeler late Sunday in Arlington.  The accident was reported just before midnight on eastbound Interstate 20 at Cooper Street.  Arlington police indentified the driver of the car as Abdelrahman Joudeh, 23, of Arlington.  The identity of the male passenger was not immediately available.  The driver of the tractor-trailer truck was taken to a hospital in critical condition. The cause of the accident was under investigation."

This tragic accident is another unfortunate example of the severity of any crash involving an 18 wheeler.  In my experience as a personal injury attorney focusing on 18 wheeler accidents, I always tell individuals involved to seek the advice of a skilled personal injury attorney as soon as possible, as there are many issues that come up when dealing with crashes of this magnitude.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link