Trucking Case: Deposition of Safety Director

Trucking companies know the traffic rules. Most truck drivers study the rules, take their training in safe driving seriously, and operate their trucks safely and consistently. Most trucking companies set their drivers up for success by giving them all the equipment and training they need to operate their trucks safety.

Unfortunately, there are exceptions.

The Pennsylvania-based trucking company in this case hired a truck driver in Georgia and had him driving all over the state, but didn't give him a place to park his tractor-trailer. So the truck driver started parking his tractor-trailer at his house, which would have been fine except in order to park there, he was backing the tractor-trailer across a rural, five-lane US highway, sometimes at night in an area with no street lights.

One night, it happened: a pickup truck didn't see the trailer in time and crashed into the side of it. Police officers investigated the collision and cited the truck driver with improper backing and improper stopping. The driver of the pickup truck died from his injuries, and his family asked us to take the case.

This is our cross-examination of the trucking company's Safety Director.

The case later settled for $2 million, which was the full insurance policy limit. https://butlerfirm.com/trucking-accid...

For more about trucking and tractor-trailer accidents, visit https://butlerfirm.com/georgia-truck-...

We’d love to hear what you think! It helps our clients if people watch these depositions and leave comments, because that helps us to know what jurors will take away from the depositions, and what questions jurors will have after watching them. So please feel free to comment with your thoughts (good or bad) and let us know what other questions you wish we’d asked. That’s why we post these depositions to YouTube.

► BY MR. BUTLER:
► Q. State your name for the record, please, sir.
► A. Matthew Joseph Bates.
► Q. Where do you live?
► A. In Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania.
► Q. Is that where you are today as we're taking this deposition?
► A. Correct.
► Q. Who is your employer?
► A. Evans Delivery Company.
► Q. And so when you go into work, where do you go?
► A. Are you asking me the town?
► Q. Yes.
► A. Okay. It's two words. I'll spell the first word. First word is Schuylkill. It's S-c-h-u-y-l-k-i-l-l. Second word is Haven, Pennsylvania.
► Q. We're having a little trouble hearing you. I don't know if it's a microphone issue on your end or what.
► A. All right. Let me try to lean in. Can you hear me better now?
► Q. Yeah, I can hear you better now. You said Schuylkill Haven, Pennsylvania, I think.
► A. Correct.
► Q. And is that the corporate headquarters for the
► Evans Network of Companies?
► A. Correct.
► Q. Is it also the corporate headquarters of Evans Delivery Company?
►A. Correct.
► Q. You work for both companies, I think; is that correct?
► MS. ADAIR: What do you mean "both companies"?
► MR. BUTLER: The Evans Network of Companies and Evans Delivery Company. THE WITNESS: The Evans Network is just a marketing moniker. It's not a company.
► BY MR. BUTLER: (Resuming)
► Q. What is the name of the entity that owns the Evans Delivery Company and Allegiant and Polaris and all those other brands that are associated with the Evans Network of Companies?
► A. Well, Allegiant and Polaris are brands. They aren't companies. And those brands are owned and operated by Evans. Evans is owned by a holding company called -- I think it's ENC Acquire Corporation.
► Q. Are you an employee of any company other than
► Evans Delivery Company?
► A. No.
► Q. What is your position at Evans Delivery Company?
► A. I'm vice president of risk.
► Q. Is that risk management and safety?
► A. At one point in time, it was, but it no longer is.
► Q. All right. If you are not in charge of safety anymore, who is?
► A. My safety duties are currently being transitioned to an individual named Tom Burke.
► Q. When can that transition start?
► A. Tom was hired shortly before the COVID outbreak, so earlier this year.
► Q. Earlier in 2020?
► A. Correct.
► Q. You're aware that today Evans Delivery Company has chosen you to speak on its behalf in this deposition; correct?
► A. I am.
► Q. I'm going to show you now what has been marked as Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 40. Excuse me, I've got to pull it back up. You see Exhibit 40 on the screen? (Plaintiff's Exhibit No. 40 marked.)
► A. I do.
► Q. That appears to be the notice of deposition for this deposition; correct?
► A. It does.
► Q. A notice of deposition is the document that officially said we'd be taking your deposition today; right?
► A. I believe that's correct.
► Q. I presume you've reviewed Plaintiff's Exhibit before this deposition; is that correct?
► A. It is.
► Q. And Plaintiff's Exhibit 40, the notice provides a list of some of the topics we might ask you about today; is that correct?
► A. Yes.