UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa./May 13, 2010/ - On Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, a Tennessee man was injured in a tractor-trailer accident on I-78 outside Union Township. He received third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body and spent a month in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest before succumbing to his wounds Dec. 12, 2009.

Now his wife, Leatha Deener-Burks, is suing the driver and the owner of the other tractor-trailer involved in the accident for negligence, loss of consortium and wrongful death. The lawsuit was filed April 20, 2010, in Lebanon County Court of Common Pleas.

On that November morning around 3:30 a.m., Eric Burks was a passenger in a 2003 International Harvester large truck, traveling eastbound in the right lane on I-78. Eric Claxton was driving the tractor-trailer while Burks slept in the berth. Around that same time, Sukhwinder Singh was operating a 2003 Freightliner large truck, also traveling eastbound in the right lane on I-78, when his vehicle collided violently with Burks' tractor-trailer.

According to the police report, the front end of Burks' truck was forced up into the back of Singh's truck. The cab immediately erupted in flames, and Claxton was killed on impact and burned beyond recognition. Burks suffered from diesel fuel burns, smoke inhalation, broken ribs and a broken foot. He died a month later, leaving behind a wife and two children.

Burks and Claxton were headed home to Memphis from a trip to Massachusetts. The other truck was owned by Sukhchan Singh and Sukhchan's company, PVR Transport. The driver, Sukhwinder Singh is from Westland Mich., and Sukhchan Singh and his company, PVR Transport, are based in Selma, Calif.

According to the lawsuit, Sukhwinder Singh was "entering the stream of traffic in a dangerously unsafe manner." His negligent conduct included:

• Failing to enter the traffic stream in a reasonably safe manner;
• Failing to maintain adequate control over his vehicle to prevent his vehicle from striking the vehicle in which Burks was a passenger;
• Causing his vehicle to strike the vehicle in which Burks was a passenger;
• Operating his vehicle at an unreasonably slow speed so as to impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic;
• Failing to take reasonable measures to prevent his vehicle from impeding the flow of traffic in an unreasonably dangerous manner;
• Failing to properly maintain his vehicle.

The suit also alleges that Singh violated the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code provisions 75 P.S. § 3334(a) and 75 P.S. § 3364(a), which state:

• Upon a roadway no person shall turn a vehicle or move from one traffic lane to another or enter the traffic stream from a parked position unless and until the movement can be made with reasonable safety nor without giving an appropriate signal in the manner provided in this section.
• Except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, no person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.

Because of Singh's failures, Eric Burks suffered severe bodily injuries; severe pain, suffering, and mental anguish; and unnecessary hospitalization, causing his death, according to the lawsuit. He also incurred conscious pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, otherwise unnecessary medical expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of earning capacity, and loss of future earnings and income to his estate. Also, Leatha Deener-Burks has been deprived of her husband's support, comfort, assistance, companionship and consortium.

The suit seeks monetary damages and a jury trial. Deener-Burks hired Wilkes & McHugh, P.A. to represent her. The firm, which has offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, is a civil litigation practice with 25 years representing victims. Attorney Bill Murray is handling the case.