Victim’s Family Files Federal Lawsuit Following Fatal Tractor-Trailer Accident

The family of a victim who died as a result of a  accident in Texas has filed a wrongful death lawsuit stemming from the accident which killed three people.

On March 15, 2012, 68-year old Herman Buggs, who was driving a tractor-trailer on the I-20 in [Texas], crossed the median and drove into oncoming traffic.  The trailer detached from Buggs’ truck and crashed into a truck belonging to David Wisener, causing Wisener’s death.  Buggs’ truck then continued into oncoming traffic and collided with another tractor-trailer, resulting in the deaths of both drivers and a passenger.  The accident resulted in a massive explosion that left fiery wreckage and flammable liquids dispersed across the I-20.

Wisener’s family has brought suit against Buggs as well as his employer, Nationwide Carrier, Inc., alleging that Buggs should not have been permitted to drive the truck.  Apparently, Buggs had been “hospitalized just a week before the accident with complaints of fatigue, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.  He was suffering from renal failure, was anemic and was a diabetic.”  The Wisener family’s lawsuit alleges that despite his age, life threatening health conditions, recent hospitalization, inability to transport his trailer in a reasonable amount of time, and conversations with the company dispatcher the morning of the accident, Nationwide Carrier failed to take Buggs off the road and allowed him to operate his tractor-trailer in an “obviously impaired state.”

The Wisener family claims that Nationwide Carrier’s actions violated both the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rules and Regulations and its duties to the public.  Section 391.41 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rules and Regulations has various physical requirements for a driver to be qualified to drive a commercial motor vehicle, including a requirement that drivers have no established history of diabetes requiring insulin for control.  The family is also pursuing negligence causes of action against Buggs’ estate, and Nationwide Carrier owner Sohan Singh.

If you or a loved one have been the victim of another’s negligence, contact Khorrami, LLP for a free confidential consultation.

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