New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

 Driving under the influence of prescription medications is on the increase, and it poses a serious threat to motorist safety. The large numbers of Americans, who are on some kind of medication means more numbers of people driving under the influence of medication side effects, many of them which they are not aware of. It doesn't make it easier that there are new prescription drugs coming out every year in the US, and that doctors may not be aware of many of the side effects of using these. It means motorists driving under the influence of impaired judgment, enhanced risk taking impulses, inability to judge distances, delayed response times, drowsiness, fatigue and a whole range of other side effects.

According to the New York Times, there are far too many challenges involved in cracking down on drivers impaired by medications. There are not enough drug detection officers who can detect the presence of these drugs, and not enough technical resources to determine that a person is driving under the influence of these drugs. Sometimes, there may be more than one prescription drug involved, which taken individually might be safe, but in combination, may create side effects that impair driving. Patients are not always aware of the ingredients of the medications they are using, and the side effects of these. Besides, lack of patient awareness about the right ways to take medications, is another factor. There may be errors in dosage, and mistakes made while combining these drugs with certain kinds of foods or other medications. All these errors may impact the person’s ability to drive. Obviously, these are great challenges for New Jersey accident lawyers and law enforcement agencies.

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A Florida-based company has announced plans to begin production of, what it calls, the first purpose-built wheelchair accessible car. The vehicle is called the MV-1, and is the brainchild of Miami-based Vehicle Production Group. According to the CEO of the company, the car meets all the requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and is designed to accommodate all wheelchair sizes.

As a New Jersey accident lawyer with a special interest in patients with spinal cord injury, I believe this is a great innovation. With more than 4 million Americans currently wheelchair-dependent, there's definitely a need for a vehicle that comes ready for a paralyzed patient to use. Currently, the only option these people have is to outfit their current vehicle with a wheelchair ramp. Not only does this affect the structural integrity of the car, but it can also render your car's warranty invalid, because of all the changes you’ve made. With the MV-1, patients with a spinal cord injury will be able to overcome a lot of the mobility challenges they face every day.

According to the company, prices for the car are expected to start at about or below $40,000. There have already been about 4,000 reservations for the vehicle.

Vehicle Production Group expects to begin production of the car in September in Indiana. As a New Jersey accident lawyer, I am always interested in new developments and innovations that can improve the quality of my clients’ lives. This is one of those innovations that could revolutionize the way patients with spinal cord injury view their life after an injury. With increased mobility, these patients can have much of the quality of their lives, returned.

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Almost everyone does it. Listening to a ball-by-ball commentary of the game on the radio while driving-we've all been there. However, a new study conducted by British researchers seems to suggest that listening to sports commentary  can be just as much of an accident risk as drunk driving. 

The British researchers looked at motorists driving just around the World Cup and Wimbledon games. The found that when drivers were listening to sports commentary, their reaction times declined by as much as 20%. To put that in perspective, 20% is the drop in reaction time that's typically seen in an intoxicated driver. What that basically means is that your risk of being involved in an accident when you're engrossed in your sports commentary is as high as if you were driving under the influence.

Obviously, as a New Jersey accident lawyer, I find that very discomfiting. There's no way to translate those results yet to American motorists, but I'm willing to bet that you'd probably find the same kind of results here too. Americans are the ultimate sports lovers, and there is very little that delights us more than multitasking, so listening to sports commentary while we are driving, is something we don't think twice about. 

It's important to remember that when you're engrossed in radio sports commentary, you're much less likely to see other motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists around you. You're less likely to hear the horns of motorists around you. You're less likely to make emergency driving decisions in time, and your reaction times are likely to get delayed.

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Motorists in New Jersey who fail to respect pedestrian rights, could find themselves coming up against a plain clothes police officer. That's because a program that uses police officers to act as pedestrians in order to crack down on motorists who fail to yield, is now underway. This is not the first time that New Jersey has had a program like this. The results of earlier programs have been successful, and police officers will be looking to cite or ticket motorists who don't yield to pedestrians.

It's important that drivers in New Jersey know that if you see a pedestrian on the crosswalk, you must stop and wait for the pedestrian to finish crossing before you drive on. Failure to do so will likely result in a citation if you're in one of the 13 New Jersey towns that have received a grant to conduct the program. Across the state, 13 police departments have received $8,000 in grants to conduct the pedestrian decoy program. Violators of these rules will be fined $200, plus court fees. They will also have two points on their driving record.

Waiting for a pedestrian on the crosswalk to finish crossing before you drive on, is not a difficult concept to grasp. It's a fairly simple task, but it never fails to amaze me as a New Jersey accident lawyer, that so many motorists fail to respect these most basic pedestrian rights.

This isn't to say however that pedestrians have no responsibility at all while they are walking. Always cross at a marked crosswalk. If you're not in a crosswalk, know that you have to yield to a motorist. If you're jaywalking, you can expect to be fined.

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For many parents, it's one of the biggest dilemmas they will ever face. Buying a first car for your teenage motorist is a major decision. For a parent, the statistics are sobering. Auto accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age. 44% of all teen deaths every year occur during accidents.

With facts like this, you need to make a safe, informed decision that considers your child's safety first and foremost. The best thing you could do for your child is to ignore his preferences while making a decision. Teenagers tend to like fast, high performance cars, and these are not the ideal vehicles for them. So, what should you look for while choosing a car for your teenager?

However, some experts warn that buying a new car for your teen could encourage speeding and reckless driving. They believe a used car is a better option. Still others believe that a teenager should only be allowed to use the family car. This allows you to maintain control over his driving. Ultimately, it comes down to your teenager's personality. You know your child best, and if you feel he or she would be safer in a slower, used car, by all means make that decision.

Fortunately, new cars come with enhanced auto safety features. Electronic Stability Control systems, side air bag systems and antilock brakes are just three features that can keep your child safe in an accident, and that are increasingly available on many models.

The American Automobile Association as well as Consumer Reports suggests a passenger car as a teenage motorist’s first car. These cars are easier to handle, unlike sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks which may be your child's favorite, but are at a high risk of rollovers.

Before you make a decision, check the car’s safety ratings on the websites of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey injury lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents across New Jersey.

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It’s being held hailed as one of the biggest successes in the use of stem cell therapy to treat medical conditions and illnesses. A group of researchers has found dramatic success in the treatment of blindness using stem cell therapy.

These patients had suffered serious eye injuries when caustic chemicals had been splashed into their eyes, either at home or during an industrial accident. The burn injuries had led to deteriorating vision. The Italian researchers treated these persons with stem cell transplants from the healthy eye, and monitored them all over for a number of years. The researchers used stem cell transplants from the healthy eye, and placed these on the damaged cornea of the injured eye. They found that the injured eye was able to grow new tissue in the cornea to replace the damaged tissue.

They found that out of 107 patients, 87 had their eyesight completely restored through the use of the therapy. In 14 other patients, the therapy was partially successful, with the benefits of the treatment lasting for up to 10 years. Ophthalmologists are calling this a “roaring success.”

For the therapy to be successful however, it was important that the patients have one healthy eye which would provide the healthy stem cell tissue. There was also no chance of rejection of the cells because they were from the patient's own body.

Every year, thousands of people suffer burn injuries after they are splashed with strong chemicals. Many of these accidents occur at home, but they're also often seen in certain kinds of workplaces, like chemical factories. This new treatment promises a much more effective way of treating blindness in these persons, than the more conventional artificial cornea transplants and cadaver transplants that are currently being used.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey injury lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents and workplace accidents across New Jersey.

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A jury in New Jersey has awarded damages of $14.2 million to the family of a woman who was killed in a drunk driving accident. The woman was riding with her husband on a motorcycle when the motorcycle struck a car that was pulling out of a bar’s parking lot. The motorist, Stephen Evans had been celebrating his 21st birthday at the bar and had been driving under the influence. He fled the scene of the crash.

The woman sustained serious injuries, and died one week after the accident. Her husband suffered serious leg injuries to his leg, that have taken a long time to heal. His leg has been severely deformed as a result of injuries, and there is continuing atrophy.

The woman’s family filed a lawsuit against the bar. According to the family's lawsuit, the bar served too much alcohol to Evans, and this contributed to the accident. During the trial, it was found that the bar had altered the surveillance video cameras showing exactly how much alcohol Evans had been served. The bar was found to be 75% liable in the accident, and Evans was found 25% liable.

This is an example of how New Jersey’s dram shop laws work to protect those who are injured or killed in drunk driving accidents involving patrons. A New Jersey drunk driving accident claim can name a drinking establishment like a restaurant, bar, pub or hotel that over serves patrons with alcohol. In other words, if staff notes that a patron is visibly drunk and continues to serve him alcohol, and he then goes out and causes an accident that injures or kills someone, the bar can be named in a personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across New Jersey.

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Congress is likely to approve a six-fold increase in funding for a program involving the development of an in-car breathalyzer device. The program called the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety program, is a joint effort which includes the participation of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and at least 13 automakers.

Thus far, the program has been receiving just $2 million in funding every year. Of this, $1 million is contributed by the NHTSA and the remaining $1 million is contributed by the automakers who are part of the program. In the initial stages of the program, it was believed that $2 million was adequate funding for the program. However the program is now gathering steam. The aim is now to develop a device that not only detects alcohol on the breath of a motorist, but also does it at fast speeds.

The device has to be a number of things in order to be efficient and effective. It has to be fast and 100% accurate. It must be extremely precise, and must be very reliable. It must also be invisible when there's a sober motorist at the wheel. All these requirements will need more money than the program is using up right now. That's why the news that the funding is likely to increase from $2 million every year, to $12 million annually is a welcome one.

Nationwide, we have made great progress in bringing down the number of drunk driving accidents that occur every year. These have been commendable achievements, but the fact is that in 2008, we lost 12,000 people in alcohol-related crashes. In order to bring down these numbers further, automakers must look into the installation of in-car breathalyzer devices that can prevent intoxicated motorists from driving their vehicles. As a New Jersey car accident lawyer, I encourage and support efforts aimed at developing such devices.

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There are still no answers to little Gianna’s death. Earlier this week, six-month-old Gianna Riccuitti was in the arms of her mother Carla Del Gallo. The two were posing below a large tree, as Gianna's father prepared to take a picture of the mother and child. Suddenly, a large branch from the tree snapped, and fell on the two. Carla fell to the ground with Gianna. The baby died, and Carla is in a critical condition at a hospital. The incident occurred just outside the Central Park Zoo, and there were a number of visitors around who all witnessed the horrifying incident.

Central Park has issued a statement saying that it is investigating how the tree branch fell off. The thousands of trees in the park are the responsibility of the Central Park Conservancy, a nonprofit group that maintains oversight of the park's horticultural operations. However, the Conservancy has not confirmed that the tree involved here was under their purview. When the New York Times asked the Conservancy more questions, it was referred to the police or the zoo operator, Wildlife Conservation Society. The Society is responsible for the upkeep of the zoo and its surroundings. However, it too is not willing to admit that it is responsible for the accident.

It's easy to blame a tree branch snapping off and falling as a freak occurrence of nature, but the fact is that there have been a number of such fatal accidents involving large tree branches falling on unsuspecting visitors to the park. Earlier this February, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed by the family of a Brooklyn man who died in exactly such an accident involving a falling tree branch. Another lawsuit involves a Google employee who was hit in the head when a rotting tree branch fell on her head. Fortunately, she survived, but has been left with lasting brain and spinal injuries.

Scott Grossman is a Freehold personal injury lawyer, representing victims of personal injury and wrongful death due to the negligence of others, in Freehold, Howell, Marlboro and across New Jersey.

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The answer, according to a group of American and Japanese researchers, could be yes. Mice hair contains cells that could help repair damaged spinal nerves and treat spinal cord injury.

The researchers unveiled their new discovery at the World Hair Congress in Cairns, Australia earlier this week. Researchers stumbled upon this discovery by chance. They were examining the skin of mice when they chanced upon head cells that had possibly rejuvenating properties. Researchers found that when these hair cells were placed in the damaged nerve of a mouse with spinal cord injury, the hair cells help the damaged nerve join. Soon after the cell therapy, the mouse was able to regain almost complete movement, and was able to walk about.

The researchers say that the same kinds of hair cells are also found in the heads of human beings. They have also tried the therapy using human hair cells on mice with spinal injury, and have found similarly positive results. The next step is to see how well this hair cell therapy can be transferred to humans with positive results.

As a New Jersey car accident lawyer with an interest in spinal cord injury, I will be especially keen to see how this treatment program progresses from here forward. The initial results seem to be very promising. Not only have excellent results been seen in mice, but human hair cells have also been found to have beneficial effects on the damaged spines of mice. We're not exactly there yet, but this could be the start to the discovery of a new treatment.

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A new study rates highways based on fatal accidents between summer of 2004 through summer of 2008, divided by the total number of miles on the highway. Interstate 76 in New Jersey had 1.64 fatal deaths per mile, making it the second deadliest in the country.

The results of the study come during an opportune time. Thousands of new Jerseyans are getting ready to travel across the state on holiday. Summer has traditionally meant a higher risk of accidents because of all that traffic. When there are more numbers of vehicles on the road, there are likely to be more accidents, and that's a fact.

However, it doesn't have to be that way. . As a Freehold accident lawyer, I believe that no matter what highways you're driving on, you can increase your risks of getting home safe and sound. There's not much you can do to control the behavior of other motorists around you, but you're entirely responsible for the actions that you take when you're traveling. For starters, make sure that you are in the right condition to drive. Avoid driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs at all costs.

The biggest thing you could do to prevent fatal injuries to occupants of your vehicle is to encourage everyone to wear seatbelts and buckle up yourself to. Seatbelt use has found to be the single biggest factor in minimizing highway crash fatalities over the past few years. Seatbelt use across the country is at record highs at about 84%.

Drive at safe speeds, and switch off your cell phones and other electronic devices while at the wheel. Minimize distractions as much as possible.

Hat Tip: Texas Personal Injury Lawyer

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It seems that there is very little need for us to be concerned about senior motorists. A study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety shows that the number of fatal accidents involving elderly motorists, has actually declined steadily over the past few years.

According to the Institute, in 2008, data showed that the number of auto accident deaths caused by motorists aged above 70, had actually declined steadily across the country between 1975 and 2008. There's no data available for after 2008, but New Jersey injury lawyers can safely assume that those statistics are true for the last couple of years too. The data shows that concerns about senior motorists and their driving abilities, may actually be overblown. These motorists are actually much safer than the other category of drivers they are most often compared to - teen motorists.

In 1975, there were 26 accident fatalities caused by senior citizens per 100,000 motorists. That figure had dropped to 16 accidents for every 100,000 drivers in 2008. In New Jersey, the number of fatal accidents involving drivers aged above 65, dropped from 155 in 2002, to 99 in 2008.

There are other statistics that prove that senior citizens may not be the major accident risk that a lot of people believe them to be. Senior motorists account for just 3% of the population of the US, and account for just over 3% of the total accident fatalities. Compare that to teen motorists. These comprise just about 8% of the total population in the country, but comprise more than 12% of all accident fatalities.

However, it's also important for families of elderly citizens to be aware of any physical and mental conditions brought on by aging that could impact their loved one’s ability to drive. Look for signs like forgetfulness, increasing dementia, mood changes, loss of vision and hearing and other changes that could impact their ability to drive.

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As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I was pleased to note that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is all set to launch a website that'll prevent rampant Commercial Drivers License fraud in the country.

CDL fraud is a major trucking safety problem across the country. The agency has been frequently criticized for its failure to prevent rampant fraud. Rogue drivers have found it far too easy to obtain licenses through fraudulent means. These barely competent and illegally licensed drivers have been linked to a large number of fatal accidents over the past decade. In fact in 2002, a report stressed that such fraud was widespread across the trucking industry, and posed a high risk to motorists.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is soon going to launch a web-based system, through which all testing will now have to be conducted. The website will contain information about examiners around the country, and will allow you to schedule testing through the system. All testing will be conducted through the system, minimizing the risk of fraud. The system will mean the end of paper test results, with all testing results being computerized. This will further reduce the chances of unethical practices used to obtain Commercial Drivers Licenses.

That's not the only trucking safety measure the FMCSA is working on right now. The agency is also testing various technologies that can help reduce the number of rear end accidents involving commercial trucks and other vehicles. The system that is most likely to be used consists of a set of lights placed at the back of the truck. The lights will turn on when a radar detects a passenger vehicle nearing the back of the truck.

Scott Grossman is a Freehold truck accident lawyer representing victims of truck and tractor-trailer accidents in Freehold and across New Jersey.

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The results of a survey released this week prove not only that distracted driving is still a major problem, but also that these distractions are far more broad ranging than we believe.

The survey was conducted by Jabra, which is a division of GN Netcom, and included over 1,800 respondents from Europe, North America and Asia. Internationally, technological distractions, including those from cell phone and texting devices, continue to be a major problem. There are also other distractions that pull driver attention away from the road, and increase the risk of an accident.

According to the survey,

• ·         72% of the respondents admitted to frequently eating while driving.
• ·         28% frequently text message while driving.
• ·         25% do their hair or even change clothes while driving.
• ·         13 % admitted to applying makeup while driving
• ·         15% of the respondents admitted to having sex while driving
• ·         10% admitted to reading newspapers or magazines while at the wheel

As a New Jersey injury lawyer, I was even more intrigued to see that more than 24% of the respondents are still not using hands-free devices, in spite of laws that allow them to use these devices in places of handheld cell phones.

From the results, it's obvious that motorists continue to remain under the false assumption that driving is an easy task, and can be done while you're on autopilot performing all kinds of activities. It is attitudes like these that lead to accidents. The results of the survey should be a wake-up call also to those, who would like to ban only technological distractions at the wheel. There are all kinds of other distractions that motorists in New Jersey around the country are indulging in, and these are just as dangerous as talking on the cell phone and texting while driving.

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A news report on CBS3 warns that parents may be unaware of the kind of injuries their child can suffer on a bouncy or inflatable ride. With summer here, and large numbers of kids expected to visit New Jersey’s amusement parks and carnivals, it's important to highlight the fact that thousands of children are injured every year while playing on these inflatable rides.

You don't think twice before you rent an inflatable for a child's birthday party. You probably have one of these right at home. It's important therefore, to note that according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission between 2003 and 2007, more than 31,000 children had to be rushed to hospital emergency rooms, after suffering injuries on inflatable rides. 

Most injuries occur when a lot of children of different sizes are playing on the ride. Larger children may fall on or knock off younger children, causing serious injuries. Injuries may also occur when the bouncy house blows away. This isn't as impossible or rare as it sounds.

In fact, the CBS3 report quotes a New Jersey amusement park ride inspector as saying that inflatable rides are linked to a high number of accidents every year. Most often, injuries are caused because the ride is not set up properly, or not used the way it is meant to be. The ride could be improperly tied to a fire hydrant, which is not safe at all. Inflatable rides are meant to be held down with sandbags and stakes, but very often New Jersey ride inspectors find that buckets are used to hold the ride down.

This summer, when your child is itching to get on the bouncy house, make sure that the inflatable ride is secured properly, the operator looks like he knows what he's doing, and that most importantly, the bouncy house is not too crowded.

Scott Grossman is a Freehold injury lawyer, representing victims of personal injury in Freehold, Saddle Brook and across New Jersey.

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Across New Jersey, thousands of children will be splashing in hot tubs, inflatable pools and residential swimming pools this summer.  It’s the right time to alert parents to the risk of drowning deaths.

The American Academy Pediatrics has issued recommendations for parents and caregivers to prevent drowning deaths among little children.. The group is recommending that children between one and four years of age be enrolled in swimming classes, to reduce the chances of drowning.

It's not often you see children of this age being given swimming lessons, and there's a reason for that. It is believed that these children may lack the cognitive skills that are necessary to learn swimming. However, the pediatrician group is now revising its recommendations to encourage children of this age group to be taught swimming. However, it's important to note that not all kids of this age may be ready for swimming classes.

Swimming lessons alone are also not sufficient to prevent drowning-related deaths. It's important that you take other poolsafety precautions to prevent accidents. This includes erecting high fencing around the pool. The fencing should preferably be around 6 feet high. All doors leading to the pool must be latched, and must be out of reach of children. Children must never be left unsupervised in the water even for a few seconds. Most drowning deaths occur when a parent leaves the child for just a few seconds to take a call or answer the door. This is highly inadvisable.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is also recommending that the flotation devices that your children use in the pool, be Coast Guard-approved. Low-quality devices can deflate, posing an immediate risk of drowning.

Scott Grossman is a Freehold personal injury lawyer, representing injury victims in Freehold and around New Jersey.

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Rear end accidents involving large commercial trucks being struck by passenger vehicles, are much more common than we know. Every year, there are approximately 23, 500 accidents caused when a vehicle strikes a commercial truck from behind. These accidents kill more than 135 people on an average every year, and injure more than 1,600.

As a New Jersey truck accident lawyer, I've always stressed the need for drivers of smaller vehicles to take extra care and caution while driving around an 18-wheeler. These are massive vehicles, and in any accident involving these vehicles and your car, it's you and the other occupants of your car who are at the highest risk of injuries or death. The fact that 135 people die in such accidents every year proves that there is a need to concentrate harder on safe driving around trucks.

In the meantime, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is working on developing systems that can alert motorists in time to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer. One of the systems involves placing bright LED lights on the back of the truck. When a passenger vehicle or any other vehicle gets too close to the back of the 18 wheeler, the lights are activated through a radar system,. This will alert motorists to the risk of an accident.

The FMCSA is testing a number of different systems that involve a combination of lights, but so far, a system involving two sets of six LED lights seems to have the most potential in preventing an accident. The agency hopes to begin field operational testing of these systems soon. I will be following this development, and hope that the system proves capable of preventing high-risk rear end collisions involving tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles.

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A new bill introduced in the Senate this week will require states to pass laws banning drivers from text messaging behind the wheel, in new efforts to combat the accident rate from such behavior. .  

The bill comes just one day after a study released by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which showed that drivers who text message at the wheel have a risk of being involved in accident or near accident that’s about 23 times higher than a driver who is not text messaging at the wheel.

Although Freehold car accident lawyers and auto safety advocates have always known about the dangers of text messaging by motorists, the Virginia Tech study shows exactly how much we magnify our chances of being involved in an accident when we text and drive. The study used cameras installed inside vehicles, to track the movement of drivers' eyes as they performed several tasks that included text messaging. It was found that drivers who were sending text messaging while driving took their eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds. When you are behind the wheel and driving at 55mph, taking your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds is long enough to cause a serious accident. 

The study has come for a great deal of scrutiny, and now Democrats, including New York’s Senator Charles E. Schumer have proposed a bill to prevent text messaging-related accidents. The bill proposes to withhold 25 percent of annual federal funds for highway safety, from states who don’t write laws banning text messaging by drivers.

Currently, New Jersey is one among 13 states that has a ban on text messaging behind the wheel. However, there are signs that our ban may not have been as successful as our lawmakers and New Jersey personal injury lawyers would have wanted it to be. Earlier this month, a survey by the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety and Farleigh Dickinson University revealed that the number of motorists in New Jersey who admitted to text messaging while driving increased by 40 percent over last year. 21 percent of the motorists admitted to texting behind the wheel, an increase from 15 percent last year. 60 percent of drivers below 30 years of age admitted to sending text messages while behind the wheel.  

That all this is happening in New Jersey, which has been at the forefront of efforts against cell phone use by drivers, is of concern to New Jersey personal injury lawyers. Our state was the first to make texting by a motorist a primary offense, allowing police officers to pull over a driver for the mere act of text messaging, even if there were no other violations.  According to the Center for Auto Safety, the problem is actually getting worse.  Even with laws against their practice and enforcement, motorists continue to text while they drive, with potentially dangerous consequences.

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At least one person was killed and several others injured in an accident involving a truck, a car and a van on Interstate 80 near Roxbury. The accident that took place last week is currently under investigation.  The deceased was an occupant of the car involved in the crash. According to police, he was ejected from his seat when the accident occurred.

The crash involved a tractor trailer, besides the car and a 15-commuter van, and ended with the tractor trailer flipping over. The trailer was loaded with steel beams, and these were strewn all over the highway although we don’t know yet if the other two vehicles struck the tractor trailer or the steel beams. No one in the van seems to have suffered serious injuries.

It's too early to determine the series of events that resulted in this accident. It appears as though the overturned tractor trailer set off the collision of the car and the passenger van. It's easy to understand how that might happen. In an accident involving a tractor trailer, motorists in the vicinity tend to panic and frantically try to avoid hitting the large truck. This can lead to multi-vehicle crashes as drivers around lose control of their cars trying to avoid the massive vehicle. A tractor trailer can also overturn when there is a shift in its center of gravity or when there is loss of control by the driver. There can be a number of reasons why the center of gravity shifts. For instance, a minor collision can cause a shift leading to the truck toppling over. A tire blowout because of defective tires can also send the large truck careening out of control, and eventually overturning. Besides, driving at unsafe speeds can cause the vehicle to flip over. A truck accident can also end up creating an explosive situation when there is a fuel spill after the accident. This places other motorists on the road at an even greater danger.

Police investigating the case are likely to begin by probing the reasons for the truck rollover.  This includes conducting drug alcohol testing on the driver, determining his speed at the time of the crash, and inspecting the truck for signs of improper maintenance. Persons injured in a truck accident caused due to the negligence or reckless driving of the truck driver can claim damages with the help of a truck accident lawyer who can determine the extent of liability.

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