[RebelDarlin]

What I found more interesting was the Police investigation resulted in NO CRIMINAL charges. He was sighted for Negligent Driving. In plain English...it was an accident.

[Part Time Dweller]

He hasn't been charged yet, pending a full investigation including his logs.

As far as the lawsuit being filed immediately, that is done to preserve evidence more than the family being money hungry. Companies tend to lose evidence in cases like this, such as safety/ maintenance records and other incriminating things. When the suit is filed, the court orders all documentation deemed evidence turned over as not to have any of it inadvertently thrown out in the trucking companies dumpster by the night janitor, if you know what I mean.

[RebelDarlin]

Originally Posted by Part Time Dweller

He hasn't been charged yet, pending a full investigation including his logs.

As far as the lawsuit being filed immediately, that is done to preserve evidence more than the family being money hungry. Companies tend to lose evidence in cases like this, such as safety/ maintenance records and other incriminating things. When the suit is filed, the court orders all documentation deemed evidence turned over as not to have any of it inadvertently thrown out in the trucking companies dumpster by the night janitor, if you know what I mean.

How long does that usually take? He's supposed to have at least the last 7 days with him right?

[Double L]

Yup last 7 days, but I know some drivers who keep all their yellow copies in their possession.

[Snowman7]

Originally Posted by DaveFromColorado

People like that disgust me.

"Oh, my kid is dead, let's file a lawsuit and get rich before we have a funeral!"

:: rolls eyes :: seriously, I could see someone filing a lawsuit, but that quickly is quite f'd up, and seems more money hungry than in mourning.

--Dave.

I think you should cut them some slack. They lost their 18 yr old daughter. She had her whole life ahead of her. You have no idea what their motivation is. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes and I sure wouldnt judge how they dealt with it. I'll bet they're "disgusted" with people like that truck driver too.

[Part Time Dweller]

Originally Posted by RebelDarlin

How long does that usually take? He's supposed to have at least the last 7 days with him right?

You honestly don't think they are just going to take the drivers word that what he hands them is true, do you?

What he has in his possession and what he actually did are two different things. In an accident like this, they can and will go back quite a ways in time.

When the truck driver drove in front of the Amtrak train back in 99, it took quite some time for the investigators to figure out the driver had been running outlaw for weeks before. The driver got sentenced to 2 years in prison for felony log book violations.

[DaveFromColorado]

Originally Posted by Snowman7

I think you should cut them some slack. They lost their 18 yr old daughter. She had her whole life ahead of her. You have no idea what their motivation is. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes and I sure wouldnt judge how they dealt with it. I'll bet they're "disgusted" with people like that truck driver too.

I wouldn't want to be in anyones shoes in that situation - but seriously, filing a lawsuit BEFORE the investigation has been completed, before the funeral, it's in extremely poor taste. Honestly, if I were on that jury, the speed in which the filed the case would be one of the things I'd take into account while making the decision base on all the other facts along with it.

Yeah, 18 year old daughter has suffered, she is no longer alive, it's extremely tragic, I'm not trying to avoid that point - but it was HER life, the ADULT offspring, not her parents life which was ended - so in reality, beyond funeral expenses what rights do they have to the money? I suppose there are other facts to consider here, we don't know if this 18 year old had children or not, and many other things like that. As a parent I would be pissed if I lost my child, hell, I'd be completely wrecked, but that doesn't mean my first thoughts would be of hiring an attorney to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

--Dave.

[Snowman7]

Originally Posted by DaveFromColorado

I wouldn't want to be in anyones shoes in that situation - but seriously, filing a lawsuit BEFORE the investigation has been completed, before the funeral, it's in extremely poor taste. Honestly, if I were on that jury, the speed in which the filed the case would be one of the things I'd take into account while making the decision base on all the other facts along with it.

Yeah, 18 year old daughter has suffered, she is no longer alive, it's extremely tragic, I'm not trying to avoid that point - but it was HER life, the ADULT offspring, not her parents life which was ended - so in reality, beyond funeral expenses what rights do they have to the money? I suppose there are other facts to consider here, we don't know if this 18 year old had children or not, and many other things like that. As a parent I would be pissed if I lost my child, hell, I'd be completely wrecked, but that doesn't mean my first thoughts would be of hiring an attorney to file a wrongful death lawsuit.

--Dave.

You dont even know them. How do you know its only about money.

As PTD pointed out, there are other things to consider, things we know nothing of.

I think its in poor taste to question a family who is going thru something like this.

[Twilight Flyer]

but it was HER life, the ADULT offspring, not her parents life which was ended

She was still in high school, so while her age makes her an adult, she is still considered a child and a dependent.

I think its in poor taste to question a family who is going thru something like this.

I tend to agree with that statement. I know if it were my daughter, I'd turn everything over to my lawyer immediately and let him/her go to town. I'm against frivilous lawsuits, but this one isn't one of those. It may have been an accident, but it was a preventable accident due to the fact that the driver got a ticket. When all is said and done, I'm sure the additional charges against him will be substancial and getting a lawsuit filed in the early stages ensures that the company and the driver are held liable and can't skate out from under it.

[Orangetxguy]

I gotta agree with PTD on what he had to say. It is entirely possible that supporting records would have been lost over the next few weeks, without court intervention.
White Line Express is owned by a fairly large company, but is operated in a manner to make it appear as a stand-alone operation. The lawuit being filed puts records under tighter scrutiny, and makes it harder for Whiteline Express and Plastipak to dispose of records they do not want viewed.

There isn't anymore information available on the girl's family, to allow us to understand thier entire motivation. It is entirely possible that someone in her family is familiar enough with the operating habits of large trucking operations and their parent company's, to know that getting lawyers envolved immediately is the only why to preserve evidence.

The news article suggests the driver did not sound his horn to give warning of impending danger. Well...You have to wonder. What was the man thinking? If he wasn't unconcious, why wasn't he laying on that air horn...I certainly would have been.