Truck Accident: Ruth's Story

One summer morning, after visiting family in Texas, Ruth and Frank set out to return home to Denver in their late model Cadillac. After driving for approximately three hours, they stopped for gas at which point Frank asked Ruth to take over driving. Frank, in the front passenger seat, was reading to Ruth at about noon when, about one mile down the road, a 40-ton tractor-trailer was coming toward them, out of control. Ruth doesn’t remember exactly what happened next, just that she needed to get out of the way of a big truck blocking her lane. The tractor trailer truck ended up driving over the right front and passenger side of the Cadillac, causing it to roll over several times and kill Frank. Ruth survived with a badly fractured ankle and ribs, as well as injury to her respiratory system. She immediately underwent surgery. Tragically, she was unable to attend her husband’s memorial service.

When questioned, the truck driver lied about how the accident happened and the state patrolman “investigating” the matter believed him. Ruth was blamed for falling asleep at the wheel and for being in the wrong lane at the wrong time. The only reason she wasn’t given a traffic ticket, according to the officer, was that he felt sorry for her because she had just lost her husband. Ruth told her story to one attorney who, after reading the accident report and doing nothing more, told her he could not help. She didn’t want to contact another attorney because she couldn’t remember much about what happened and based on what the policeman said, blamed herself for the collision. Finally, after much encouragement from her children, friends and a caring healthcare provider, she was introduced to the lawyers at the Law Offices of Stuart A. Kritzer, P.C.