Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/709236
Voices 4 | Overdrive | August 2016 Your best defense against accident lit- igation isn't some expensive attorney or all the insurance that money can buy, says owner-operator Wayne Van- Hooser of Tracy City, Tenn. Rather, paying close attention to "every little thing" on the scene of any crash will help in fighting frivolous claims. Another commenter under the online version of our "Dodging the ambulance chasers" June cover story emphasized the importance of getting the police involved to prove your po- sition, and never trusting a party that "claims to be at fault. … Make sure there are pictures of the accident and any debris [that] can illustrate where the collision happened." A few years ago, VanHooser was on Interstate 70 in Missouri amid a raft of construction work. Following a Ford van in stop-and-go traffic, the jam suddenly opened up, and "every- body took off." As VanHooser began to move, the van suddenly slowed. He locked it down and knocked into the van's ball hitch. Nobody seemed to be hurt until the police arrived, and then the large family in the van "got to falling out like dominoes." Three passengers were carried to the hospital, but nobody was seriously injured. Nonetheless, VanHooser noted the van, owned by an Illinois church, was full of people from North Dakota, the family of a pastor using the van for a personal vacation. "I was pretty sure they were chang- ing drivers," VanHooser says, as in the aftermath the driver was strad- dling the front seats. The fact that it was a church van and they used it for pleasure, he says, may have helped the insurance company avoid court in the end, he adds. "We ended up settling all three of the hospital claims for less than $20,000. You've got to keep an eye out for every little detail, and pass it on. If you've got a good insurance company, they'll fight it for you." VanHooser was among readers who responded to Overdrive's June cover story about the growing size of jury awards to plaintiffs in trucking accident cases. Other views on what truckers and carriers can do to pro- tect themselves ranged from in-cab and exterior video recording to just how far the liability trail can extend in a litigation-happy environment. David P. Wisla, commenting online, pointed to the tort bar's express en- couragement of suits against trucking companies. "Truck Safety Alert: The Rising Danger From Trucks, and How to Stop It," published in June 2013 by the American Association for Justice, argued for raising the liability minimums required of all trucking companies. It also provided a "virtual The value of crash scene detail • Dashcams won't always keep you safe, but they can save your company and come at a very small cost. • Having a cam that faces outward is great, and if you have one on the trailer, too, even better. • Set the forward cam so you can see the hood mirrors. This will help in some cases. • A dashcam will help your attorney show how proactive you are. Any good things they can use for you will only help a court case and possibly help a jury see you're not the devil. — Dashcam benefits, via "Jclaspill" at OverdriveOnline.com One reader, familiar with these ads by Atlanta attorney Ken Nugent, says they promote "collecting the 'big money' from truckers as though it's like winning the Lotto jackpot."