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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, November 8, 2018

  • schedule Time

    1:00 PM E.T.

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

$197.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE course will discuss how driver distraction, and cell phone use in particular, impacts trucking cases and include tips for both defending against claims of driver distraction and establishing the plaintiff’s distraction as a contributing factor to the accident.

Faculty

Whitney Lay Greene
Partner
Drew Eckl & Farnham

Ms. Greene is a civil litigation attorney, practicing primarily in the fields of general liability and workers' compensation defense. She works on behalf of one of the World’s largest retail organizations in the areas of transportation, premises liability, product liability, and professional negligence claims. Ms. Greene serves clients who manage a high volume of cases, handling files from the initial complaint through final resolution. She has significant experience positioning cases for dismissal on summary judgment and other cost-effective resolution options. In addition, she has taken and defended dozens of depositions (including medical and non-medical experts), handled numerous mediations, and represented clients at both the trial and appellate level.

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Melody C. Kiella
Partner
Drew Eckl & Farnham

Ms. Kiella specializes in all aspects of complex civil litigation and represents clients in connection with a broad spectrum of legal matters, including transportation/trucking law, personal injury, premises liability, catastrophic injuries, construction litigation, commercial litigation, breach of contract, and general liability. She has extensive experience in managing files from the pre-litigation stages through trial, which experience includes pre-litigation investigations, analysis of potential liability, and providing strategic advice to avoid possible future litigation; pre-litigation settlement negotiations; positioning cases for dismissal on summary judgment through investigation, discovery, depositions, and creative legal arguments; taking and defending depositions; participating in oral argument on dispositive motions and discovery motions; drafting answers, complaints, motions, briefs, motions in limine, and other pleadings filed at all stages of litigation; and coordinating with and using experts.

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Description

Distracted driving can manifest when drivers take their eyes off the road or hand(s) off the steering wheel, or their mind wanders from driving. In today’s world, distracted driving often results from texting, talking on a cell phone, or using a navigation system.

In virtually every case, trucking defense counsel can expect plaintiff’s counsel to investigate whether the commercial driver was using a cell phone at the time of the accident. Even if the use was via a hands-free device, trucking defense counsel should be prepared to defend against claims that the commercial driver’s distraction caused or contributed to the accident—even if he or she was not determined to be at fault by the investigating officer. Equally as important, defense counsel should be on the lookout from the beginning of the case for clues in the documentary evidence, discovery responses, oral testimony, and third-party records that the plaintiff’s distraction played a role in the accident.

Listen as our distinguished panel discusses how defense counsel for trucking companies can prepare to defend claims that the commercial driver was distracted at the time of the accident. The panel will also provide tips for investigating and establishing that the plaintiff’s distracted driving either caused or contributed to the underlying accident.

Outline

  1. Overview of distracted driving issues and their role in trucking litigation
  2. Discussion of gathering evidence during discovery to evaluate whether distraction played a role in the underlying accident
  3. Best practices for trucking defense counsel when both defending against claims of distraction and asserting distraction on the part of the plaintiff

Benefits

The panel will review these and other relevant topics:

  • How the trucking company’s policies and procedures on cell phones and driving distraction can work both for and against you in the course of litigation
  • Common methods used by plaintiff’s attorneys to claim that a commercial driver’s cell phone use contributed to the accident—even if he or she was not determined to be at fault by the investigating officer
  • Tips and strategies for investigating and establishing plaintiff’s cell phone use at or near the time of the accident