A truck driver’s widow and her family are seeking $2.5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit, the latest in a string of legal challenges to the nation’s largest trucking company.
The woman, who is seeking damages from the trucking industry for allegedly driving into a ditch and then crashing, is suing in the United States District Court for the District of New York and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The lawsuit alleges that the truck driver was distracted by alcohol and a cigarette when he drove into the ditch, causing the truck to roll.
A spokeswoman for FST Logistics, which operates the trucks, said the company was unaware of the lawsuit when it learned of it.
The company, which employs more than 400 people, says it takes safety and operational issues very seriously and is reviewing the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges the truck’s operator, who was also driving the truck, had failed to provide the driver with a safety plan.
A representative for the woman’s husband declined to comment on the suit.