Iowan killed by run-a-way trailer in Dubuque County

I've written about detaching trailer accidents before and see that a 55-year-old Ames, Iowa man died in eastern Iowa after his car was struck by one. About a mile south of Balltown the trailer came loose from a truck being pulled in the opposite direction. The location is in Dubuque County in northeastern Iowa and the accident happened on July 5, 2010. The Ames man is Mark Kerper. No official report by the Iowa State Patrol has been yet filed.

I have a guy who writes to me quite often from what I thought was www.safetrailers.com but checking that site out I was unable to locate the right Internet site. At the law firm we've handled a case against U-Haul over one of their trailers oscillating and overturning the SUV that was pulling it. That driver ended up with brain damage. After handling that case I'm extremely cautious about pulling single rear axle trailers at highway speeds. After a crash everyone injured needs to think about proof.

Most people think these are easy cases to prove, but they aren't. Often times the insurance company gets in quick, pays the trailer owner for the wrecked or damaged trailer and then scraps it out leaving no evidence to prove the case against the trailer owner. Other times if the trailer is available it's heavily wrecked making it quite difficult to prove what was wrong that allowed the trailer to separate from the vehicle pulling it. In this case you have a truck pulling the trailer. And on the truck of course is a ball and then there are the chains and pins and several other pieces of the trailer hitch that have to be examined. Don't rely on the insurance company to do your investigation. Photographs are needed and the trailer has to be preserved in its damaged condition. Experts will need to be hired in some cases to prove liability or what exactly went wrong that allowed this trailer to come loose and strike Mr. Kerper's car. Of course like many cases with death involved the spouse or other relatives are grieving and the last thing they are thinking about is taking pictures of a wrecked trailer. The best advice I can give is to hire a lawyer and do it now. People don't like talking about lawyers but there are there for a reason so take advantage of them and do it early. Then you can grieve knowing someone is working to preserve the estate claim and the claims of the passengers.

I'm familiar with how to hook up a trailer the right way. See How to Hook Up a U-Haul Trailer - Braked on YouTube. While it's not rocket science there are things you have to do or, like in this case, the trailer can come loose. This is Iowa and we drive pickup trucks and we haul stuff. But that doesn't excuse us for not knowing proper trailer safety. Know your hitch!

See also How Safe Are U-Haul Trailers? By Inside Edition on February 27, 2008