A new lawsuit blames multiple parties for the death of a man who was killed after a truck hit him.

Plaintniff Sherry J. has initiated a fatal truck accident lawsuit against the individual driver and XPO Logistics Freight Inc. due to the death of her son, Danté E.

Sherry is bringing this wrongful death lawsuit against the defendants in her effort to seek recovery, arguing that the truck driver’s negligence caused a critical accident that claimed her son’s life. The lawsuit explains that the fatal truck accident claimed the life of 34 year old Danté due to a truck driver’s failure to yield.

Many truck accident lawsuits blame negligence of the driver, and Sherry’s is no different. Her negligence claim argues that the individual driver did not yield when coming from a private drive in which the deceased plaintiff was struck at an intersection in Shelby County, Tenn. According to the lawsuit, the deceased plaintiff passed away immediately as a result of the impact.

Truck Dangers

Unfortunately, due to the size and weight of commercial tractor trailers, the possibility for a fatal truck accident is much higher than with accidents involving only smaller vehicles.

Sadly, research from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute indicates that most fatalities in large truck accidents are occupants of other passenger vehicles. This is, according to the IIHS, because of the vulnerability of people traveling inside smaller vehicles. Commercial trucks are much taller with greater ground clearance and trucks often weigh up to 30 times as much as a passenger vehicle.

Braking capability is one of the leading causes of truck accidents that lead to a fatality. A fully loaded tractor-trailer takes up to 40 percent farther on the road than cars to stop; this discrepancy is even worse on slippery roads or in a vehicle that has poorly maintained brakes.

Although overall roadway fatalities decreased in 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has collected data indicating that there was a significant spike in large truck occupant fatalities during the same year.

Economic experts believe that due to the improving economy in the United States, more truck drivers are on the road than ever before, which poses significant risks for people who have to share the roadways with truck drivers.

These trucks might not have gone through appropriate or regular maintenance and if the truck driver does not have enough training, experience or focus on the road, this can lead to fatal vehicle accidents.

Accident Factors

When an accident happens, the weight of the truck is often not the only factor that raises the risk of serious injuries or death.

If the truck driver is operating the vehicle at an excessive rate of speed or recklessly, if he or she is carrying hazardous or explosive materials, or if any part of the truck malfunctions, this can cause immediate property damage and injuries to people in nearby cars.

Truck accidents can be further complicated by the determining liability. In many of these cases, both an individual driver and the trucking company can be named in a lawsuit.

The Fatal Truck Accident Lawsuit is Case No. 2:19-cv-02124-MSN-DKV, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Western Division at Memphis.