Re: Follow-up investigation

[Nicholas Rowley <nick@tl4j.com>]

It is NOT good to have a ticket Rod b/c it gives insurance company basis to deny.  You want to try to push cop to dismiss that and not push fwd with it, and not put it in the report.  Much easier to stop it now than it is to try to undo it later, 

Nick



On Apr 26, 2011, at 3:41 PM, Rod Ritner wrote:

> Nick, was talking to haytham. Cop in Illinois can issue citation based on witness. But it got me thinking, besides wanting to beat ticket to stop conviction, if goes to trial give us chance to cross driver. Better to get dismissed, but just in case. Gonna have haytham handle ticket part. 
> 
> Nicholas Rowley <nick@tl4j.com> wrote:
> 
>> Tell cop we have engineer who has opinion that dump truck crossed center line.  Tell him it'd be best to have his report defer, 
>> 
>> Nick Rowley 
>> 
>> 
>> On Apr 26, 2011, at 2:35 PM, Rodney Ritner wrote:
>> 
>>> Ain't a matter of ethics, a matter of getting ahold of him and whether he'll talk.  Can't find him on web and police report supposedly mailed to house but haven't received it yet with the parties' contact info. 
>>> 
>>> BTW I've spoken to State Police reconstruction officer; he's not doing a true reconstruction since no crime involved.  But, he has photos and some measurements.  He also spoke with McCormick, the dump truck driver.  In officer's opinion physical evidence, gouges in road and braking marks consistent with truck driver's statement.  He did not recall the "groove" near center-line that I'm hoping will prove dump truck crossed centerline.  Question is if we can prove that groove caused by dump truck.
>>> 
>>> I've sent preservation/spoliation letters to defendant company and their insurer.  Also put our truck on hold with our insurance company.  Dump truck supposedly being moved tomorrow to a salvage yard.  We need to get it inspected and photo'd now.  Question: I can get an expert there, but it'll cost $250/hour.  Or, we can drive ourselves and take our own photos.  Your thoughts?
>>> 
>>> Got DOT officer's name and number.  I asked Joe to contact him and get copy of their report.  Hopefully he found violations with the dump truck safety equipment, brakes, lights, maintenance, logs, something.  Also, per my research this type of truck should be require driver to have his CDL.  Obviously another item we'll address.  In my preservation letter, I also advised company to preserve all logs, training manuals, personnel file, policies and procedures, maintenance logs, etc.
>>> 
>>> Hoping I might meet up with Haytham tomorrow.  At minimum we'll be able to talk and hopefully have all the reports and photos by then.  Once we get everything I'm going to send to my expert buddy and at least get an idea from him if he can help and what it'd cost to find out if they can prove driver lying.
>>> 
>>> Rod
>>> 
>>> On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 3:04 PM, Nicholas Rowley <nick@tl4j.com> wrote:
>>>> YOU ARE ABLE TO CONTACT THE DRIVER DIRECTLY, Rod since you are not licensed there you can talk to him, nothing in the law that says you cannot until we get a letter of rep from AN ATTORNEY.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> I doubt we're going to be able to contact the driver directly; he's already reported to his employer's insurance and they've made a claim against our client for the property damage.  Our client's insurance has not spoken to driver of dump truck.
>>>> 
>>>> Talk to you soon, maybe we can meet soon.  I'll be in Wisconsin tomorrow.
>>>> 
>>>> Rod
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Tue, Apr 26, 2011 at 8:09 AM, Haytham Faraj <haytham@puckettfaraj.com> wrote:
>>>> Hey Rod,
>>>> My contact number is 760-521-7934.  I'm on my way back from the West Coast
>>>> today.  I'll be in Chicago until Thursday evening.
>>>> 
>>>> I hope all's well with you.
>>>> 
>>>> Haytham
>>>> 
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Nicholas Rowley [mailto:nick@tl4j.com]
>>>> Sent: Monday, April 25, 2011 9:23 PM
>>>> To: Rodney Ritner; Haytham Faraj
>>>> Subject: Re: Follow-up investigation
>>>> 
>>>> draft a letter telling him we'll just take the insurance policy if he tells
>>>> the truth now and tells his insurance company to pay all of our client's
>>>> medical bills.  BUT, if he lies and we prove those lies through our
>>>> reconstruction and expert engineers then we will go after him personally and
>>>> he will spend the rest of his life paying for this.  W need local counsel,
>>>> HATHAM is licensed in IL, he will meet with this guy and get him to fees up.
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Nick
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> On Apr 25, 2011, at 12:17 PM, Rodney Ritner wrote:
>>>> 
>>>>> Beth and Joe,
>>>>> 
>>>>> I'm glad we got to meet last week, I only regret the circumstances.  I
>>>> just wanted to give you an update.
>>>>> 
>>>>> There still isn't a police report available.  We'll keep calling everyday
>>>> until we get one.
>>>>> 
>>>>> I've spoken with your insurance claims rep, Stephanie, at Progressive.
>>>> They won't sell us the Trailblazer, but she has agreed to it on a legal
>>>> hold.  This will prevent it from being sold, destroyed, etc until we can get
>>>> out to look at it and have our reconstruction expert also inspect it.  She
>>>> will send me proof of it being put on legal hold and the contact information
>>>> for where it's being stored; hopefully later today.
>>>>> 
>>>>> We've put Schierbaum Landscaping and their insurance company, Auto Owners,
>>>> on notice to also preserve the dump truck, trailer, and other items we'll
>>>> want.  Those letters going out today.
>>>>> 
>>>>> It seems Schierbaum had a trucking/transport company fairly recently.
>>>> However, their motor carrier license was revoked.  At this point we don't
>>>> know what insurance, or coverage limits, they had.  We hope to get this
>>>> information soon.
>>>>> 
>>>>> As you know, we still need to prove the dump truck driver, McCormick, is
>>>> lying.  Without other witnesses this can be tough.  But, as we discussed at
>>>> the scene Joe, my review and experience makes me think we've got a decent
>>>> chance of at least scaring the hell out of Schierbaum's insurance company.
>>>>> 
>>>>> FYI, Schierbaum is making a claim for their property damage.  Since Jeff
>>>> only had $25,000 property damage coverage, you're looking at a possible
>>>> claim for the excess.  This is something for which we won't technically be
>>>> representing you but will try to get worked out.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Let us know how Jeff is doing.
>>>>> 
>>>>> Rod Ritner
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>