A powerful tractor-trailer can be a formidable force on the road, and not only to humans and other vehicles. The repercussions of a truck accident can sometimes reach beyond the road, even under fortunate circumstances where nobody is hurt.
In an unusual two-part accident in Fall River, Massachusetts, on a Saturday morning this month, a tractor-trailer belonging to a sandwich shop became caught up in loose wires and brought down two power poles, cutting off electricity in the area for up to 12 hours.
Earlier in the day, the driver of a motor vehicle had hit one of the poles, causing the wires to hang very low initially. Police responded to the first incident but the driver was not hurt and nobody else was involved.
Now businesses in the area are complaining that the power outage has cost them money in lost revenue. The owner of a nearby gas station has said that for more than three hours the business couldn’t open cash registers and so the sale of gas and trading in the shop came to a halt. Even after power was restored, the incident still left the business with no telephones or cable.
Police are continuing to investigate but have not issued citations to either the driver of the car or of the truck. Fortunately, no one was injured. However, businesses affected may have recourse in court to file a lawsuit for lost earnings due to negligent driving by either the car or the truck driver responsible for knocking over the poles, or both. At a time like this, business owners would be well advised to follow the investigation and its effects on the determination within the lawsuits filed.
Source: ABC6/WLNE-TV, “Tractor-trailer breaks power poles,” Dana Griffin, Feb. 22, 2014
