Tom Lewis Sims Killed in Pedestrian Accident with 18-Wheeler near Childress, Texas
According to the Amarillo Globe-News, a man was killed by an 18-wheeler
while he attempted to repair a mechanical problem on his vehicle near
Childress, Texas. The accident occurred around 6 a.m. Monday, January 16
when 74-year-old Tom Lewis Sims stopped on the shoulder of U.S. Highway
287 to check on a mechanical issue with his vehicle. An 18-wheeler then
swerved onto the shoulder and struck Sims' vehicle, killing him at the
scene. Texas DPS officials continue to investigate the accident.
Commentary In
Texas, we employ move over laws that protect our emergency workers from
harm on the shoulder, but passenger vehicles pose the same threat. When a
vehicle is disabled on the shoulder of the roadway, drivers must take
extra caution maneuvering past it. We recently litigated a case where a
truck driver became distracted on a major highway and struck a disabled
vehicle and the driver of another vehicle who had stopped to help. For
liability purposes, an independent investigation should be conducted, as
attorneys for the trucking company will use issues like relative
position on the shoulder and time of day to attempt to mitigate fault.
Depending on who is the owner of the rig, attorneys for the
other side may already be investigating the accident scene. When
insurance policies in the 7-figure range are on the line, companies have
a vested interest in finding ways to reduce a payout. This could mean
disputing the actions of the decedent (relative location I mentioned
above) or the often employed upfront settlement to a victim's survivors.
The latter is a very sneaky attempt at manipulating a company's bottom
line by offering a quick and easy settlement that does not reflect the
true value of a fatal commercial vehicle accident. Undoubtedly, it will
also come with the caveat of exclusion from future claims regarding the
accident, leaving a victim or survivors reeling.
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