A lawyer based in New Orleans believes that the company in charge of a truck that spilled nails on I-10 yesterday can be held liable for tire damage claims.
Most of the nails were spilled on the left three lanes of the six-lane interstate from Oaklawn Drive. State police closed down the lanes peppered with the road hazards from 1pm to 3:30pm while the state Department of Transportation and Development deployed crews to clear out the nails.
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Despite the road closure, there were still some nails over the lanes that were kept open, perforating and deflating the tires of passing vehicles. The rainy conditions that day may have made things worse, reducing driver visibility and increasing their chances of running over the nails. Numerous tire businesses in the area were flooded with customers who had nails stuck to their tires, costing them hundreds of dollars
“We always have to look at the individual facts of the case, but at first blush, it sure looks like drivers have a great claim against this truck driver and this company and whoever insured that truck,” attorney Mike Sherman told
FOX 8 WVUE.
State troopers managed to catch up to the driver and cited him as having an unsecured load.
“A citation is not evidence, per se, of liability, but it sure is good evidence if the police found fault in somebody that the liability laws will also find fault in that same entity,” Sherman explained.
Sherman explained that there is a state law that says those who fail to secure their cargo or load can be charged criminally.
“Typically, these matters are handled through a traffic citation and through civil litigation, but it actually is a crime punishable by imprisonment to let loose nails out of a truck in Louisiana,” he pointed out.
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