Wyoming Truck Crashes

I have noticed a disturbing trend recently in some of the Wyoming truck crash cases that we have been working on. The problem is that some of the truck drivers that are causing the accidents don’t even speak English. In two of our cases the drivers were hired by major trucking companies to drive 18-wheelers through Wyoming in the winter. They could not even speak English well enough to explain what happened to the highway patrol troopers that investigated the wrecks, let along understand a weather report. In one case when the Trooper asked the driver what had happened, he had to hand his cell phone to the Trooper so that the dispatcher could try to explain what had happened.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act prohibits companies from entrusting a semi to drivers who are not capable of safely operating the vehicles, yet some companies are actually going abroad to find drivers. Some come out of truck driving schools and are capable of safely driving, but unfortunately the drivers in our cases could sit through a 6-week driver education class and not understand a single word. In one of our cases the driver was from Russia. He was talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend and did not notice that he was approaching a stop sign. There was a flashing light on the sign near the intersection warning of the upcoming stop sign. The roads were slick and he slid through the stop sign colliding with our clients. One of our clients was killed and the other suffered a serious traumatic brain injury. When we took the driver’s deposition in the case, we had to have an Armenian interpreter to communicate with the driver. In discovery, we obtained a document that the driver had signed certifying that he had read and understood the company safety policy. When I asked him to read the certification he couldn’t even do that, let alone tell me what it meant. He had no clue what was in that safety manual.
Also, these drivers are very transient. If one of them wrecks into you, they may get fired the next day and immediately head back to Pakistan. If you wait for several months after an accident before you hire a lawyer to protect you, there is a good chance the driver will have disappeared. This can make your case harder and the longer you wait, the more difficult your case may become. If you are involved in a crash with a truck, you should get an experienced Wyoming truck accident lawyer hired right away. Truck wrecks don’t get better with age.