Drowning Prompts Lawsuit Trucker Was Told Bridge Was Safe, Family Claims

The family of a man who drowned in the Clark Fork River in June 1997 is holding the Delta Shore Estates Property Owners Association responsible for his death.

Brandon Short of Heron, Mont., was hauling a load of rock across a bridge on the south fork of the Clark Fork River on June 4, 1997, when bridge decking collapsed under the truck’s weight.

The truck rolled off the bridge into the water and was pinned against the bridge pilings by the river’s swollen current. Short was swept away and drowned. The 39-year-old man left behind a wife and two children, ages 9 and 6 at the time.

Short was assured that the bridge could support the weight of the truck, even though the bridge had a posted weight limit of 8 tons, according to the lawsuit.

Short was doing a favor for his friend, Paul Overman, who owns a hauling company out of Heron. Overman had been hired to haul rock to the island to help shore up the bank along one homeowner’s property. Overman had been told that the weight limit sign was placed there to keep motorhomes off Derr Island, the suit claims.

Based on the homeowners’ assurances that the bridge could handle 25 tons, Overman had hauled several dump truck loads across the bridge on previous occasions, the lawsuit contends.

Unknown to Short or Overman, the decking was made of cottonwood, a softwood that had rotted and could not hold the weight of the partially loaded dump truck. The bridge originally was built in 1966, and later rebuilt by the homeowners association. Attorneys for the Short family say the association used the cottonwood decking when they rebuilt the bridge.

Another bridge accesses Derr Island, which was built in 1991 by Jim White. The complaint describes this as a “heavy duty” bridge, but the homeowners association had no agreement with White to use that bridge.

Attorneys Steve Verby and Todd Reed argue that the homeowners association had a duty to investigate and determine whether the bridge was safe, and to warn Brandon Short that it was unsafe.

They also allege that some association members had been warned that the bridge could not withstand heavy loads.

The lawsuit seeks an amount in damages to be determined at trial.