Last week in Minnesota, Ken was thrilled to kick off the two day “Members Only” seminar hosted by the Trucking Litigation Group of the American Association for Justice.
The event, which draws top personal injury lawyers from across the country, focused on how truck drivers contribute to catastrophic accidents and taught attorneys what they need to do to provide the best possible representation to their clients in accidents involving truck drivers.
Ken was honored to be on the faculty of such an important program. He taught the lawyers there how to handle the nuanced issues that are part of a truck accident lawsuit. Some topics of discussion were:
- tractor-trailer driver qualifications;
- truckers driving in dangerous conditions;
- trucks carrying hazardous materials;
- “backing,” “under-ride,” and turning cases;
- how to best represent an injured truck driver as a client;
- conspicuity cases (safety issues when driving at night),
- the rules, regulations, and safety issues related to truck drivers’ driving time and sleep time (hours of service); and
- dealing with trucking companies’ typical excuses for causing a crash.
Ken and the other presenters spoke specifically about truckers and issues unique to people injured by a truck driver. Truck accident cases can involve more complex issues and technical rules compared to a car-verse-car crash case. This is largely because of the many federal requirements in place to monitor trucks and truck drivers so as to ensure the safety of the public. Still, the rules are often broken, and lawyers with knowledge of these different laws and issues particular to the trucking industry are more well-equipped to fight for victims of truck drivers’ negligence.
