Steep Grades and Big Rig Brake Failure
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer. Accidents involving a defective roadway design can cause serious injury and even death. Earlier this year the City of Beverly Hills settled three lawsuits brought against them by the victims of two recent traffic accidents. The victims were represented by one of my partner firms.
Claims of Road Defects
The City of Beverly Hills had known that Loma Vista Drive was a dangerous roadway for over 50 years. As a result of the recent lawsuit alleging negligence and defects in the roadway’s design, the City recently paid out a $32,500,000 settlement to plaintiffs Johnson, Allen, and Cascio for two recent trucking accidents resulting in traumatic injury and wrongful death lawsuits.
Traumatic Injuries and Wrongful Death
Tragically, an off-duty police officer was killed when a cement truck driver lost control of his vehicle after suffering brake failure. The driver of the cement truck sustained serious injuries and has been in a vegetative coma since the accident. Loma Vista Drive has been the scene of numerous accidents involving large trucks.
Steep Grades and Big Rig Brake Failures
The cases of Johnson, Allen, and Cascio both involved cement trucks experiencing brake issues on the steep grades of Loma Vista Drive. The two crashes occurred in 2014, only weeks after a third accident involving a heavy construction vehicle also experiencing brake failure. That truck collided with a police cruiser, killing an officer and critically injuring another. The driver of the truck pleaded no contest to a gross vehicular manslaughter charge after having been found to have not properly maintained his vehicle.
Runaway Truck Ramps
Concerned city residents, traffic consultants, and city employees had warned city management about the unusually steep slope on parts of Loma Vista Drive. After the catastrophic series of accidents, the city suspended heavy deliveries and issued the statement that commercial vehicles traveling on Loma Vista Drive and its surrounding streets constituted a “critical public safety issue.”
Unfortunately, as recently as January of 2016 another construction truck lost control on Loma Vista Drive resulting in the death of the driver and substantial property damage. The City of Beverly Hills had installed a runaway truck ramp as part of their campaign to improve commercial vehicle safety on the roadway. Sadly, the truck was unable to access the ramp before hitting several parked cars and a retaining wall.
Related Articles by Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer, Ed Smith:
- S. Route 101 Closed due to Utility Truck Accident
- Truck Brake Failure Is Common and Dangerous
- What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit?
Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an experienced Sacramento Personal Injury Attorney. Have you or someone you love been injured in an accident? Please contact me right away at (916) 921-6400 or (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly, and no obligation advice. I can also be reached online at www.AutoAccident.com.
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I am very honored to be a member in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum for my home state of California. The forum is reserved for personal trial lawyers who have obtained case verdicts or reached a settlement which has exceeded $1 Million Dollars.
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Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Trousdale Estates – Loma vista Drive by Toglenn. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
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