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Mother and Daughter Killed by Runaway Truck in Tupelo Mississippi

Tragedy struck the town of Tupelo, Mississippi, on September 6, 2013, when Olidia Acosta and her daughter Vianett Castillo were killed by a runaway truck.  Ms. Acosta, just twenty years old, and her daughter, a child of only two, were sitting in the vehicle waiting for a family member to emerge from Acceptance Auto Insurance.  Sometime between 10:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., a semitrailer crashed into the vehicle.  The vehicle was then thrust into the Acceptance Auto Insurance building.  Reports indicate that the vehicle, a Chevy HHR, was crushed by the semitrailer.  Crews had to work in excess of an hour to lift the semitrailer off of the Chevy HHR.  Both Ms. Acosta and her daughter were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

No one was driving the semitrailer.  It had been parked on Mitchell Road Extended, but somehow rolled down Mitchell Street Extended, across South Gloster Street, and into the vehicle in which Ms. Acosta and her daughter were sitting.  Authorities are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.

Given the nature of the accident, it could be that the brakes were not engaged by the driver or that the brakes failed.  Of course, there may be other causes of the accident, as well, and the authorities will continue to investigate what happened, as indicated above.

Truck accidents involving failed brakes are of two main types, and both can have a variety of causes.  One type of braking problem is the complete failure of the brakes.  Despite the infrequency of such an occurrence, the effects are absolutely devastating.  Total brake failure can result from in the air brake system of a semi-truck, which prevents proper operation of the air brakes.  Complete failure of an air brake or other braking system can also be caused by leaks in any of the multitude of hoses, pumps, and other components of the braking system.

Aside from total brake failure, inadequate braking capacity can cause accidents such as the one that killed Ms. Acosta and her daughter.   In incidents involving inadequate braking capacity, the brakes function but do not function properly or sufficiently. Many causes of inadequate braking capacity exist, including worn or missing brake components; worn tires; overheated brakes; improperly loaded trucks; or unequal pressure in tires.

No matter the superficial cause of brake failure, the actual cause is nearly always improper care in maintaining or loading a truck.  Accidents involving failed or inadequate braking capacity can be complicated to litigate.  Generally, experts are required to reconstruct the crash scene, to analyze the vehicles in question, and to analyze the maintenance history of the vehicle that caused the accident.  Additional experts may also be necessary to provide testimony about the nature of the victim’s injuries, his or her potential for recovery, and the economic damages the victim has faced and will fact as a result of the accident.

Determining who may be at fault for the accident can also be more difficult than it may seem.  For example, was it the driver, the company for which the driver was working or contracting, the maintenance worker servicing the truck, or the company that loaded the truck improperly?  In order to ensure complete recovery of all damages to which an injured individual is entitled, all avenues of liability must be explored.

These complexities necessitate retaining a law firm experienced in representing individuals injured as a result of trucking accidents.  Barrett Law, PLLC is that law firm.  Our firm has been representing the rights of individuals injured in trucking accidents for decades, and will continue to do so for decades into the future.  If you or someone you love has been injured as a resulting of a trucking accident, please contact our firm today at reached at (800) 707-9577 to schedule an initial, no-cost consultation.

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Dealing With a Difficult Insurance Adjuster in Mississippi

Hopefully you will end up with one of the “good” insurance adjusters who will offer assistance and will go out of his or her way to make your experience as positive as possible. You have already been through an ordeal with your accident, and if you should end up with an insurance adjuster who appears to being giving you trouble at every turn, you may feel frustration and anger. Supposing you get an adjuster who seems hard-nosed and doesn’t appear to be listening to anything you have to say—what then?

Dealing With the Adjuster Yourself

If you’ve decided to go it alone regarding your insurance settlement, first and foremost you will have to grow a tough skin and remind yourself over and over that while this accident and the subsequent injuries and expenses are highly personal to you, to the insurance adjuster it is just another day on the job. The job of the insurance adjuster is to get their company off for the least amount of money possible in order to increase the bottom line at the end of the year. Although insurance companies are perfectly happy to accept your insurance premiums month after month, year after year, they are banking on the odds that you will not have an auto accident. If you do have an accident, their goal is to pay you only the amount they absolutely must pay. When you fully realize this, then you understand that the insurance adjuster is simply doing what he has been told to do, and that even if he seems hard-nosed and inflexible, it really isn’t personal.

On the flip side, while you are not trying to hit the lottery, you do want all of your medical bills and lost wages fully covered. Especially if the accident wasn’t your fault, it can seem awfully unfair to be stuck with piles of bills that you simply don’t deserve. The insurance adjuster may not believe your injuries are severe enough to warrant a settlement, or he may not even believe your injuries are related to the accident but were injuries you had prior to the accident. Keep in mind that the first settlement offer is likely to be extremely low. Insurance companies count on you wanting to get the settlement over and done so you can get on with your life. They also know that many times you will be absolutely unaware of the future medical bills you will be stuck with, so if they catch you early on, they can minimize their payout.

Your goal is to be patient and immovable as the Rock of Gibraltar. Determine the lowest amount you will accept after running the numbers. Make sure your bottom line number will completely cover the repairs to your vehicle, your medical bills past, present and future, any rehabilitation which could be involved, prescriptions, and money for all lost wages to date and any future lost wages you can anticipate. Once you’ve reached that figure, don’t budge. Politely tell the adjuster that this amount is what you will accept, and don’t be persuaded by anything they say to lower the amount. If the insurance adjuster also refuses to budge, it is time to contact a personal injury attorney.

Hiring an Attorney to Deal with the Difficult Adjuster

If you’ve exhausted your stores of patience and are becoming frustrated with the difficult adjuster, hiring a personal injury attorney can get the ball rolling in the right direction. Often all it will take is a call from your new attorney to get a much better settlement offer. Once your attorney reiterates your refusal to accept an unreasonable offer, your adjuster may become much less difficult. Besides—insurance adjusters do not want their company being sued. It looks bad to their boss or supervisor if every case they handle goes into litigation, and the truth is the adjuster wants to settle just as badly as you do, they simply don’t want to settle for a fair amount. Often all it takes is for your attorney to draft a complaint and send it over to the adjuster for his or her attitude to change dramatically and a reasonable settlement offer to be sent right back. Your attorney will look at your initial estimation of damages and let you know if it’s reasonable, or even too low, then the two of you can go from there. Your attorney will be much better equipped to deal with the difficult insurance adjuster—after all, that’s what they do every day.

 

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