Tracy Morgan Settles with Walmart Following Last Year’s Trucking Accident
Most of us remember the horrific accident comedian Tracy Morgan was involved in approximately one year ago. Mr. Morgan pursued claims against Walmart to recover for the injuries he suffered. The fatigued truck driver that caused the accident was working for Walmart at the time the accident occurred, which is why Mr. Morgan claimed that Walmart shared in responsibility for his injuries. The case did not go to trial because Mr. Morgan settled his lawsuit with Walmart and feels satisfied with the result, according to The Washington Post.
Has the Tracy Morgan Accident Helped to Put a Stop to Truck Driver Fatigue?
At the end of last year, the United States Congress temporarily adjusted the law regarding how often truck drivers must sleep as well as the limit on the number of hours they can work. The Department of Transportation reportedly continues to push for safer roadways and stricter rules to help eliminate truck driver fatigue; however, Congress has reversed (at least temporarily) the hard work the Department of Transportation has put forth over the last decade. Instead of being limited to 70 hours of total driving time in one week, Congress reinstated the old rule that truck drivers may drive a total of 82 hours in one week. Further, truck drivers are no longer required to rest at least 34 hours in one week.
This surprising decision by Congress has caused many lawmakers and citizens concern as to whether or not the roads will become more dangerous with sleep-deprived truck drivers, especially following the Tracy Morgan accident. Truck-driver fatigue has proven to be disastrous in so many ways, and can even result in criminal liability for some truck drivers if people are killed in an accident (such as the incident involving Tracy Morgan and his passenger, who was killed). Even though most truck drivers want to operate safely on the roadway, they often feel pressured to make ends meet, and this sometimes means driving while fatigued.
Most truck drivers operate in a consistently law-abiding way. However, a truck driver's decision to drive while fatigued creates a serious risk of harm that extends not only to victims of an accident, but also to those victims' families. Tracy Morgan is still recovering from his injuries, and it has been one year since the accident that killed a passenger and close friend. Mr. Morgan suffered extensive injuries including, but not necessarily limited to, the following:
- Broken ribs;
- Head injuries (concussion);
- Broken leg; and
- Broken nose.
While Mr. Morgan is coherent now, he does not recall the accident, and is not sure if he will ever feel the same way as he did prior to the collision, like so many others who have been victims of similar circumstances. Georgia has had its fair share of trucking accidents lately, and truck driver fatigue has proven to be one of the leading causes. Until the laws can change to significantly reduce the number of accidents caused by truck driver fatigue, innocent individuals will continue to suffer serious injuries and possibly death, something that nobody deserves to experience.
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