Your loved one is killed in an accident caused by a drunk truck driver, a “professional” driver behind the wheel of a commercial truck weighing several tons. We help families hold drunk truck drivers and trucking companies accountable for the wrongful death of their loved ones. We also help hold accountable bars, restaurants and others who may have illegally served alcohol to truck driver alcohol before the accident. You can contact our attorneys for a free consultation here.
There is a process to to this that starts with legal maneuvers to both protect and obtain evidence.
- We send the truck driver and trucking company a spoliation letter. This letter puts the trucking company on notice that a family has a wrongful death claim against the company and that the company is responsible for preserving evidence that may be used to prove that claim. If this letter is not sent, the truck driver or trucking company may destroy evidence.
- We request documents from the trucking company and others. We review the documents for evidence directly associated with the accident (for example, the driver’s daily log) and for evidence of a pattern of wrongdoing that may be associated with the accident. We also look for relationships between companies to determine all of the companies that may be legally responsible for the accident.
- We interview the truck driver, witnesses and trucking company officials. This can be done with written questions or in person with a court reporter present. This evidence is generally admissible in court.
- We determine if the family has a dram shop claim against a bar, restaurant or other establishment that sells alcohol. If the family has a dram shop claim, they can sue the business that sold the liquor to the truck driver. This is significant because the value of the family’s claims may be more than the amount recoverable from the truck driver’s and trucking company’s insurance companies.
More than one-third of the people killed in accidents caused by drunk drivers are not the drunk drivers. They are passengers (some of them children), occupants of other vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians. Every one of these deaths was preventable, and the wrongdoers need to be held accountable.
Commercial truck drivers are considered to be alcohol-impaired when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .04 g/dL or higher.
You can talk with one of our attorneys for free by submitting our free consultation form or by calling 1-888-377-8900 (toll free). Attorneys Eric Hageman and Fred Pritzker are our lead semi-truck accident lawyers. You can ask for them by name.
