In very severe accidents, it is possible for both a personal injury lawsuit and criminal charges to be filed against the person who caused the accident. Recently, news broke that a truck accident that claimed the lives of a man and his daughter has resulted in the driver of the truck being sent to prison to serve a term of seven years and four months.

The driver of the big rig that involved in the accident was convicted of involuntary manslaughter after he lost control of his semi tractor-trailer, slamming it into a car driven by a 58-year old man and his 12-year-old daughter. The 25-ton truck, which was transporting a load of automobiles at the time, crashed into slower traffic on the road after the braking system on the truck failed. The truck also struck a number of shops including a nail salon and a bookstore before finally coming to rest. Four other cars were hit by the runaway truck in addition to the car driven by the deceased.

Investigators determined the accident was caused by the truck driver choosing a winding mountain road instead of using the freeway to get to his destination. With the brakes smoking, the trucker attempted to navigate the 1 1/2-mile traverse down the mountain before losing control and causing the fatal accident.

A check of the brakes found that half of the ten brakes on the semi truck were either not functioning or were not properly adjusted. The remaining five brakes demonstrated cracking after having been overheated.

Speaking through a translator during his sentencing, the truck driver said that he was a pastor, but had started driving the semi to earn extra income. He asked for forgiveness from the family, saying that the whole situation was a nightmare.

Although criminal charges are intended to punish a person for his or her actions, a criminal conviction does little to compensate the people whose lives were affected by an accident. In cases like the one described in this story, injury victims or their survivors are allowed to seek compensation from the person who caused the accident in a court of law.

Source: Associated Press, "Runaway big rig driver gets prison in deadly crash," Thomas Watkins, Sept. 8, 2011