Marcos Costa, a truck driver who is facing murder charges for a California truck accident in April of 2009, has filed suit against Los Angeles County, the California Department of Transportation and the City of La Cañada, alleging that improper maintenance of the Angeles Crest Highway caused the fatal truck accident.
An attorney for Caltrans has called Mr. Costa’s claim “frivolous” and says that the truck accident leading to the wrongful death of two people was caused by Costa, who was driving his truck with a defective braking system and because Costa allegedly did not follow the rules for trucks on California highways.
In his lawsuit, Mr. Costa, a native of Brazil, is asking for “$500,000 for property damage, loss of liberty due to criminal proceedings and ‘oppression, mental duress, stress and mental trauma’.”
The La Cañada Flintridge truck accident killed two people after the big rig truck went out of control. Mr. Costa says there should have been an emergency truck lane for out of control trucks. Costa also claims that the Angeles Crest Highway is a high accident zone and he cited seven prior truck crashes at the intersection. He claims that these prior accidents should have put the government entities on notice of the danger.
Truck accidents in California are very serious and often lead to tragic loss of life, as it did here. When a person is killed in an accident, their family may have a California wrongful death claim against the responsible party. When government entities are involved, different rules apply and claims must be made right away.
If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident caused by a truck, call our office as we have been handling truck accident injury cases throughout California, including San Bernardino, Simi Valley, Los Angeles and Riverside for over 30 years.
Injured occupants of a vehicle, pedestrians or their families should call our offices now for a free consultation with an experienced injury attorney.