Truck Driver Hits Utility Line - Utility Co. Sends Bill

[mrsmissy10]

What is the name of your state? Kentucky

My husband drives a commercial truck for a company as an employee. He was driving in the early morning (Monday) before daylight on a highway he had traveled on previous times with no mishaps. On this particular morning a utility cable (electrical I think) caught on his driver side truck mirror and tore it off, then scraped up and over the truck cab and tore off the wind jammer and smoke stack and then landed on the ground behind the truck while nearly missing another company driver that was following my husband in
another company truck. Needless to say the neighborhood was then without electricity and I assume there was some pretty major damage to the utility lines.

My husband did not see the cable before it caught on his mirror as it was dark and there are overhanging tree limbs and such on this road. A DOT (Department of Transportation) officer came out and wrote up a report. My husband was wondering why this cable was hanging so low over the roadway (low enough to catch a truck mirror is pretty low) and after looking around saw that there were skid marks from a vehicle that had left the roadway and went through the grass and ended at a broken utility pole. We are assuming this happened sometime over the weekend. This broken utility pole was somehow still standing and attached to the cable but this was why the cable had drooped so low over the roadway. The DOT officer also saw this and my husband assumed it was put into the officer's report.

We don't know what the DOT officer actually wrote in his report but he did not act like my husband was in any way to blame for this incident. My husband even asked the officer if he would be held responsible for anything and the officer was like, no it wasn't your fault this happened. My husband's employer also holds the employee responsible for any damage to the company vehicles if the employee is in any way to blame. My husband also receives safety incentives and incentives for not being involved in any preventable accidents. Not once did anyone act like this was my husband's fault in anyway. The company never asked him to pay for the damages to the truck and he received his incentives as usual (the point I'm making here is that no one seemed to think this was my husband's fault in any way).

In fact my husband, who gets paid by work completed, not by the hour, was pretty aggravated this cable was hanging low enough in the road to catch on his mirror. He spent half the morning directing traffic and waiting for the company to bring another truck and pick up his damaged truck. My husband, or someone else could very easily have been severely injured or killed by this low hanging cable and at the time my husband was wondering if anyone had reported this cable and broken pole to the utility company
responsible and since it was the weekend if the utility company had simply neglected to send someone out to fix it. He even considered trying to find out if the broken pole and cable had been reported and neglected but since he didn't know what utility company owned the pole he didn't know who to call. However, everyone was just happy no one was injured so all was forgotten and no one mentioned another word about this incident.

Now, it is approximately six months later and in today's mail my husband received a bill for well over $2,000 from some collections place. It seems he now owes Windstream this money for labor and materials for a pole at (named location) where this incident occured around six months ago. It seems to me like if anyone owes anything it should be Windstream paying my husband's company for damage to his truck since their cable was hanging practically on the ground across a state highway. I don't see how Windstream has the right to just up and send a person a bill like this. When was it decided, and who decided, that my husband should have to pay for this? How can Windstream just send a bill like this when no there has been no trial, ruling, or judgement against my husband?

Anyway, what steps should my husband take from here? Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.What is the name of your state?

 

[Texas Pooh]

Can we have some details on the letter? Was it a demand for payment or some sort of notice of intent to sue?

Does your husband's company have an inhouse lawyer? If so, I'd bring the letter to him/her - s/he should be willing to assist. If your husband was on company time, the obligation (if there is one) is a company obligation and they should be willing to defend the matter.

 

[mrsmissy10]

The envelope the bill came in has a return address of CMR Claims Department in Oklahoma City, OK. The actual bill is a single sheet of paper with Windstream Communications and their logo at the top.

There is very little information on it. It has Mail Correspondence to: CMR Claims Department and address in Oklahoma City, OK. It has billing date of 03/13/2008 and damage date of 10/29/2007. It gives a claim number, authorization number and bill type of "DC" whatever that means. It has an 800 number for Questions which my husband is still too upset to call at this point.

Below this it says "Description - Pole at (Road Name this happended on) (City name), KY".
Then it says "Charge Description - Labor and Materials - $2,247.83". and "Total Amount Due Upon Receipt $2,247.83"

Toward the bottom it says "Please write claim number on your check. Mail bottom stub with your payment to address below. The actual stub you send with payment has my husbands name and address, claim number, and authorization number, the amount due and "Please Pay Upon Receipt". The return address on it is:
Windstream Communications, Inc.
Attn: Revenue Accounting - Miscellaneous Billing
c/o Bank of America, N.A.
Lockbox #xxxxxxx
Dallas, TX

The address on the envelope which was included for remitting payment is CMR Claims Department in Oklahoma City, OK.

This incident happened in October of 2007. Today is the first time we have heard a single word about this since it happened. We would have thought this a hoax if the bill didn't name the road name and city where this incident happened.

The company my husband is employed by is a large company and does have corporate lawyers. My husband works out of a small branch office with only a supervisor at the location but he is planning on taking the bill to his supervisor on Monday. We also thought that any damage done in a company truck would be the company's responsibility but we don't understand why my husband received this bill. We can't understand when any ruling was made that my husband should have to pay for this and how Windstream has any right to just send someone a bill like this.

My husband is presently saying he will go to jail before he pays this bill when it wasn't his fault and he is lucky he wasn't injured or killed. Hopefully he will calm down soon but I'm afraid if we don't pay this we will be drug through court or maybe this will affect our credit record or something.

 

[Texas Pooh]

The letter is little more than a demand at this point, acting as if your husband caused the accident. They don't have the right to make that determination unilaterally. To enforce the demand, there would have to be a lawsuit and they'd have to prove it all. Unless and until there is a judgment, don't worry about your credit.

However, as in so many things, don't ignore it! The company corporate lawyers are great start, and if that doesn't work out, see a lawyer yourself - but I'm betting the corporate lawyers will be all over this ... I wouldn't be surprised to learn that your husband's company has already gotten a similar letter.

Post back as it develops - and tell hubby to breath!

 

[mrsmissy10]

Thanks Texas Pooh. Hopefully the company lawyers will take care of this. It is also a relief to know that Windstream would actually have to prove my husband was at fault before this bill would be enforced. My husband took several photos and his company has them on file which show the skid marks through the grass leading to the broken utility pole. There is also the other company driver that was following my husband who witnessed the whole thing so I think Windstream would have a hard time showing my husband at fault in this. Thanks again and I will try to leave an update as to what finally happens with this.