Today’s litigation brief looks at a recent accident involving one car pulling out and being broadsided by an oncoming truck; the truck driver appears to have the right-of-way. As a young lawyer you have to ask yourself whether the guy pulling out is completely at fault or whether there is other evidence of negligence.

Black Hawk County, Iowa - What caused the driver to not see the oncoming truck and to pull out right in front of it on Highway 63? The accident is described as involving an F-250 Pickup truck and a Toyota Corolla – a fight weighing heavily in favor of the Ford. The Toyota being driven by one Joseph Pink pulls out from C57 and attempts to cross the southbound lanes of Highway 63 just as Garth Harold Beatty in his 1999 Ford pickup truck towing a trailer is crossing C57 at that intersection. The inevitable occurs with Mr. Beatty’s truck t-boning the little Toyota. Apparently Mr. Pink died in the crash and a passenger Mr. Harold Beatty was injured and taken to Allen Hospital. I used to work with a lawyer Sam Beatty in Waterloo. He was really a nice guy; I liked him a lot.

What are the right questions to ask from the physical evidence and the eyewitnesses?

Ten things we want to know from the accident investigation:

1. We would want to know if there was an obstruction to the view of Mr. Pink.
2. We would want to know the speed of the Beatty truck?
3. We want to know how long any skid marks are along with where they start and stop.
4. We want to know the initial point of impact.
5. We want to know the crush depth into the Toyota.
6. We want to know if Mr. Pink was distracted while driving.
7. We want to know if any driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
8. We want to know the chemical tests from the autopsy report and any administered to the other driver.
9. We want to view the scene and photograph it.
10. We want to interview any passengers.

Things to do right now:

1. Get the ISP Technical Investigation Report with Photographs.
2. Visit the accident scene.
3. Talk with as many witnesses as you are able.
4. Photograph the vehicles involved.
5. Photograph the scene.
6. Look in the vehicles for evidence showing the whereabouts of the passengers prior to the collision.

There are a lot more questions to be answered but this is a start. What we are evaluating is negligence of all drivers and the landowners who have a duty to mow their weeds. Remember right now you want to prove the facts not your case. Your case will be proven, or not, when you gather and preserve the facts.

The Iowa State Patrol describes the accident this way:

NAMES HAVE BEEN RELEASED, VEHICLE 1 WAS WB ON C57, AS VEH 1 ATTEMPTED TO CROSS THE SB LANES OF HWY 63 HE WAS STRUCK BROADSIDE BY SB VEH 2, VEH 2 WAS A PICKUP PULLING A TRAILER, VEH 1 ENTERED WEST DITCH SOUTH OF THE INTERSECTION, VEH 1 CAME TO REST IN DITCH FACING NORTH, VEH 2 ALSO ENTERED WEST DITCH AND FLIPPED COMING TO REST ON ITS TOP FACING NORTHWEST, THE TRAILER SEPARATED FROM VEH 2 COMING TO REST PARTIALLY ON TOP OF VEH 2.

Follow this link to read the Iowa State Patrol’s preliminary report.