Our job is to dig for the truth after an accident and determine personal injury liability. In cases involving a company truck and a school vehicle (bus or van), the path to the truth often winds through a mountain of corporate and school district documents.
Going to the scene of the accident and inspecting the vehicles is the first step. We look for evidence of traffic violations, distraction, driver fatigue, and vehicle malfunction. We then take legal action to obtain all relevant corporate and school district documents, including, but not limited to, the following:
- background checks on drivers;
- driving records, including information involving past accidents and traffic violations;
- in-house drivers’ training procedures and manuals, and information on whether these were followed in respect to each driver involved in the crash;
- truck driver log book, which by law is required to have information regarding the time spent on the road (an indication of possible sleep deprivation);
- relevant emails.
With this evidence, we then interview the drivers involved in the crash, all available witnesses, and trucking company and school district management. With the drivers, we find information regarding their activities before and during the crash. In some cases, we have found out that the driver had been drinking alcohol prior to the collision, and we are handling more cases where the driver was using a cell phone. In one of our cases, the truck driver had illegally stopped in the middle of the road to talk to his girlfriend. This resulted in the death of another driver.
“Taking the time to gather all available evidence is the basis for building a winning case. Our severely injured clients count on us to leave no stone unturned.” Attorney Fred Pritzker
Contact Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman for Help
You can use the form below to contact Fred, Eric and their accident litigation team at Pritzker Hageman law firm. Fred and Eric represent injured people nationally and have offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Tragic Accident between Company Truck and School Van Results in Critical Injuries
This week, a tragic accident in Swift County, Minnesota, injured 7 children and the driver of a Hancock Public School van. All of the children, ages 8 to 16, were injured, three of them critically: 16-year-old Gaige Sanderson of Danvers, 16-year-old Harleigh Schlief of Danvers and 14-year-old Savannah Schlief of Danvers. Our thoughts are with the Schlief and Sanderson families.
The Hancock Public School van was bringing the children home on Monday, March 12, 2018, when it was t-boned by a semitrailer truck. According to the Swift County Sheriff’s Office, the Hancock School District van pulled into the intersection from a gravel road when the van was hit by the company truck, which was traveling on a tar road. The accident happened just before 4 p.m.
The semi truck driver, Jeremy Beyer, also of Danvers, was treated and released at the scene. 68-year-old Judith Van Eps was driving the van. She is no longer listed as a driver on the Hancock Public School website.