May 25, 2017
Christine Spagnoli
See more on Christine SpagnoliGreene Broillet & Wheeler LLP Santa Monica
Human error and modern technology are features in a roadway collision case that Spagnoli is taking to trial in June.
The lawsuit was filed two years ago after a freight tractor trailer operated by a FedEx employee crossed the center median of Interstate 5 in Orland and crashed headlong into a bus full of high school students on a college tour, killing nine and injuring 36. FedEx Freight Vehicle Collision Cases, BC544928. (L.A. Super. Ct., filed May 9, 2014).
The key issue in the case, according to Spagnoli, has to do with the driver's use of a mobile device while operating his vehicle. Records from his cellphone provider reveal he was using his phone to make calls, receive text messages, and access the internet while driving, including the fateful moments when he crossed the median, she said.
Such actions would be a violation of FedEx's driving policies, but Spagnoli said this incident demonstrates that employees at FedEx do not take these rules seriously.
"Our belief is that there's no enforcement internally at the company and that the rule was knowingly violated by FedEx employees," Spagnoli said.
Spagnoli secured a wrongful death verdict last summer in ca case involving another preventable tragedy. A woman driving home after a trip to see her elderly mother experienced a sudden tread separation in a wheel of her Ford Explorer, which caused the car to roll. According to Spagnoli, the woman's tires had been recently checked by a mechanic who should have spotted the flat spot on her tire and warned her to change it. Defense counsel for Cerritos Tire offered Spagnoli's clients $100,000 before trial but a jury returned a verdict of $2 million.
Improvements in tire designs have reduced the rate of blowouts and rollovers. But Spagnoli noted that there are still countless old tires on the road that are rapidly aging with dangerous consequences for consumers. Tire companies recommend changing tires after 10 years, she said, but there's evidence that they should be changed sooner.
"Consumers aren't being told to replace their tires when there are signs of an impending failure," Spagnoli said, adding that she's seen tire-related litigation morph to focus more heavily on accidents caused by failed old tires, which are "a disaster waiting to happen."
— Eli Wolfe
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