Bouncing off the Jersey Barrier will not save you from being found negligent

For good advice see a lawyer and if you have questions about this blog, the law or your case write or call me directly. Steve Lombardi, sdlombardi@aol.com and 515-222-1110. I handle all types of personal injury cases including car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, workers' compensation cases. We help truckers all across the country who come through Iowa and end up in an accident. If we need other lawyers from other states we hire them and it costs you no more than what you would pay us; in other words, we split the fee between us. So call 515-222-1110 or email us at sdlombardi@aol.com.
Steve Lombardi, Attorney

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1/23/2012
Steve Lombardi
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Bouncing off the Jersey Barrier will not save you from being found negligent

The description of how this one starts and ends is below. We are in Polk County, where I practice. From reading this description I can tell that the insurance adjusters are going to dispute Bryan Loya having to pay for all the damages to Shani Amin’s truck. They may claim he was following too close or driving too fast, not leaving enough room between their car and truck. A good investigation will ferret out the facts, but each driver should careful of what they say or if they allow a recorded statement without first seeking legal advice.

VEHICLES #1 AND #2 WERE BOTH WESTBOUND ON I-80/I-35 WITH VEH #1 BEING OUT IN FRONT OF VEH #2. THE DRIVER OF VEH #1 LOST CONTROL AND ENTERED ONTO THE LEFT SHOULDER WHERE IT IMPACTED THE CONCRETE MEDIAN WALL. VEH #1 THEN REBOUNDED INTO THE LEFT AND CENTER WESTBOUND LANES WHERE IT WAS IMPACTED BY VEH #2. VEH #1 THEN CAME TO REST ON THE LEFT SHOULDER AND VEH #2 STOPPED IN THE CENTER LANE UNTIL TOLD BY THIS OFFICER TO PULL OFF OF THE ROADWAY.

Crash Information

L O C A T I O N	Date of Accident 1/11/2012	Time of Accident 11:26 PM	County Polk - 77	Accident occurred within corporate limits of (city) Urbandale - 7875	Law Enforcement Case Number: 2012001930
	Literal Description I-80/I-35 WESTBOUND @ 130.8 MILE MARKER				Legal Intervention? No	Private Property? No
					X-Coordinate: 440790.3
					Y-Coordinate 4611462.

U N I T 1	Driver's Name - Last LOYA			First BRYAN			Middle MICHAEL		Suffix
	City WAUKEE			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 502630000
	Driver's Age 22					Citation Charge Code 1		Citation Charge 1
	Gender Male	State IA - Iowa, US	Class C - Non-commercial vehicle or commercial Veh w/26000 GVWR or less & either 16 Pass Design or Hazmat	Endorsements None	Restrictions	Citation Charge Code 2		Citation Charge 2
	Alcohol Test Given? 1 - None			Drug Test Given? 1 - None		Citation Charge Code 3		Citation Charge 3
						Citation Charge Code 4		Citation Charge 4
	Seating Position 01 - Front: Left Side / Motorcycle Driver	Injury Status 4 - Possible	Occupant Protection 2 - Shoulder and lap belt used		Airbag Deployment 9 - Unknown	Airbag Switch Status 9 - Unknown		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 1 - Not trapped
	Transported to: DECLINED					Transported by: DECLINED
	Insurance Co. Name
	Year 2005		Make Dodge - DODG		Model DAK		Style PK		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 6500
	Initial Travel Direction 4 - West	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 65	Point of Initial Impact 05 - Rear	Most Damaged Area 01 - Front	Extent of Damage 4 - Disabling damage	Underride/Override 1 - None
	Total Occupants 01	Traffic Controls 01 - No controls present	Vehicle Config. 02 - Four-tire light truck (pick-up, panel)	Cargo Body Type 01 - Not applicable	Vehicle Defect 01 - None	Driver Condition 1 - Apparently normal	Vision Obscured 01 - Not obscured	Contributing Circumstances, Driver (up to 2)
	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS			First Event 06 - Evasive action (swerve, panic braking, etc.)	Second Event 03 - Ran off road, left	Third Event	Fourth Event 21 - Vehicle in traffic	Most Harmful Event (by vehicle) 36 - Concrete barrier (median or right side)
	Emergency Vehicle Type 1 - Not applicable					Emergency Status 3 - Not Applicable
	Carrier Name			City		State			Zip
	Number of Axles			Gross Vehicle Weight Rating		Placard #			Hazardous Materials Released?

U N I T 2	Driver's Name - Last AMIN			First SHANI			Middle HABIB		Suffix
	City DES MOINES			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 503210000
	Driver's Age 36					Citation Charge Code 1		Citation Charge 1
	Gender Male	State IA - Iowa, US	Class A - Veh w/26001 GVWR or more Towed unit is 10001 GVWR or more	Endorsements T - Dbl/Trpl Trlr	Restrictions None	Citation Charge Code 2		Citation Charge 2
	Alcohol Test Given? 1 - None			Drug Test Given? 1 - None		Citation Charge Code 3		Citation Charge 3
						Citation Charge Code 4		Citation Charge 4
	Seating Position 01 - Front: Left Side / Motorcycle Driver	Injury Status 5 - Uninjured	Occupant Protection 2 - Shoulder and lap belt used		Airbag Deployment 6 - Not applicable	Airbag Switch Status 3 - No ON/OFF switch present		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 1 - Not trapped
	Transported to: DECLINED					Transported by: DECLINED
	Insurance Co. Name XTRA LEASE
	Year 2006		Make		Model TRACTOR		Style TRACTOR		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 500
	Initial Travel Direction 4 - West	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 65	Point of Initial Impact 06 - Left Rear	Most Damaged Area 06 - Left Rear	Extent of Damage 2 - Minor damage	Underride/Override 1 - None
	Total Occupants 01	Traffic Controls 01 - No controls present	Vehicle Config. 09 - Tractor/semi-trailer	Cargo Body Type 02 - Van/enclosed box	Vehicle Defect 01 - None	Driver Condition 1 - Apparently normal	Vision Obscured 01 - Not obscured	Contributing Circumstances, Driver (up to 2)
	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS			First Event 06 - Evasive action (swerve, panic braking, etc.)	Second Event 21 - Vehicle in traffic	Third Event	Fourth Event	Most Harmful Event (by vehicle) 21 - Vehicle in traffic
	Emergency Vehicle Type 1 - Not applicable					Emergency Status 3 - Not Applicable
	Carrier Name XTRA LEASE			City ST LOUIS		State MO - Missouri, US			Zip 63146
	Number of Axles 5			Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 80000		Placard #			Hazardous Materials Released? 2 - No

ACCIDENT ENVIRONMENT		ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS Major Contributing Circumstances:	WORKZONE RELATED?	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Location of First Harmful Event 1 - On Roadway	Weather Conditions (up to two) 08 - Snow	Environment 2 - Weather condition	Location	First Harmful Event of Crash (use codes 11-42 only) 21 - Vehicle in traffic
Manner of Crash/Collision 6 - Sideswipe, same direction	Weather Conditions (up to two) 08 - Snow	Roadway 02 - Road surface condition	Type
Light Conditions 4 - Dark, roadway lighted	Surface Conditions 3	Type of Roadway Junction/Feature 01 - No special feature	Workers Present?

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NARRATIVE

Officer CLARK	Badge No. 395	Time Officer Notified of Accident 23:29	Time Officer Arrived At Scene 23:29
Name of Agency P01	Date of Report 1/11/2012	Investigation made at scene? Yes	T.I. #

Category: I-35 I-80 I-235 I-380 Collisions/Accidents

That’s enough for today, but come back tomorrow to read The Verdict blog/blawg at Lombardi Law Firm or posts on the The Iowa Edict, where I will discuss other personal injury accidents in Iowa. And as always if you are in an accident and need legal services we encourage you to call us sooner, rather than later. We aren't very good at putting toothpaste back into the tube. So let's work together to make your case prep work for you.

I work with lawyers from across the country who handle accidents on either Interstate 35 or 80. These cases may require more than one lawyer because of the multi-state jurisidiction issues. We worked out details ahead of time so your case can move ahead without delay. So call us if we can help you. 515-222-1110 or 800-383-0331 or sdlombardi@aol.com. We cooperate with lawyers who have clients injured in Iowa. So call us.

Steve Lombardi