Transportation managers must ensure their drivers remain updated regarding safety issues, especially at construction sites where conditions may change on a day-to-day basis. Because it allegedly did not instruct its drivers of a restriction placed on a temporary entrance to a construction site, a concrete company faced a lawsuit after a Kentucky woman tragically lost her life.
A cement-mixer truck attempting a left turn into a construction entrance for the Blue Grass Airport collided with an oncoming passenger vehicle. The driver claimed other truck drivers waved him on through the three left-hand lanes so that he could turn into the airport’s temporary entryway. While turning, however, the truck driver did not see a car driven by a woman approaching in the oncoming far right-hand turn lane and his truck struck the left side of her vehicle.
Husband sues company for wife’s wrongful death
The woman passed away 18 days later from the severe injuries she suffered. As reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, her husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging the concrete company of negligence.
Driver received no advisory of a left-turn prohibition
The temporary entrance the cement-mixer driver attempted to use when he turned left and hit the woman’s car was only for right-hand turns. The driver claimed he received no advisory of the left-turn prohibition when given the delivery order. He received no reprimand for the crash.
One of the other drivers waving him through for the turn was also a company employee. Under deposition, the owner of the concrete company claimed that neither he nor his drivers were aware of the left-hand turn prohibition at the construction entrance.
Deceased woman’s husband receives $3.75M settlement
The suit alleged that the concrete company failed to comply with the airport’s construction entry-traffic arrangements. The company and the deceased woman’s husband reached a settlement agreement for $3.75 million.
Responsibility for an injury or death caused by an employee requires proof of negligence. When asserting a company’s liability, the argument rests upon the legal and ethical premise that a business owes a duty of care to provide its employees with sufficient training and timely safety advisories.
