Factors That Are Often Deemed Responsible For Truck Accidents

We all have experienced that fearsome moment when a large truck goes barreling by on the road, sometimes in less than desirable weather conditions. That is one of the moments that can make even the most experience drivers tense jittery and sweaty. This fear is justified in more than one way considering the humongous size of trucks and trailers, and the power these vehicles have.

These vehicles are capable of causing perilous situations upon colliding with some other vehicle on the road. This is the reason why the department of transportation has set out rules to exercise control over trucking companies in a way that ensures the safety of others on the road. This government body regulates the commercial vehicles including trucks.

There are hours of service specifically mentioned in the law which states that a truck weighing more than 10,000 pounds can be driven during given hours only. Even during those hours, no driver can operate one such vehicle beyond 14 hours of consistent driving to theoretically ensure a well rested driver.

This duration must be followed by 10 hours of off-duty. The driving history of off-duty and on-duty hours must be maintained in the log books.

Ensuring compliance with these rules is essential because fatigue is often deemed a big reason behind truck accidents. If the driver is proven to be a factor behind the mishap, the trucking company may have to pay the victim compensation for their truck related injuries according to the law.

Not just the hours, many other protocols are also associated with lawsuits, such as whether the truck was undergoing regular maintenance, and what material it was carrying. All these factors are analyzed during the lawsuit by victim’s attorney.

These law cases are often complicated because most of the times, it is not just the negligence of either party that causes such unfortunate situations to occur, but ensuring that there was compliance with the DOT requirements comes into play. Proving the trucking company is liable may be a challenging affair.

That is when a truck accident law firm comes in. These firms work on the behalf of victims and their family and devise a strategy aimed at obtaining their clients compensation from the trucking company.

Lawyers obtain the necessary documents such as log books of the driving history to find out the faulty areas that could be used against the wrongdoers. They know how to approach the matter and attack the lawsuit from a variety of angles to ensure that every path for compensation is fully examined.

Appropriate Compensation Is Your Right If You’re A Truck Accident Victim!

It is not possible to know when an accident is going to happen, nor is it plausible to undo it, especially if the accident happens to involve something as big as a truck. However, the law does have provisions aimed at safeguarding the sufferers financially, so that the family of the victim does not suffer from financial crisis due to huge hospital bills that follow the treatment.

Victims of truck accidents must file a lawsuit against those accountable for the mishap. The lawsuit may bring some justice to the victim, by at least getting the individual injured by the truck accident and their family some financial compensation.

All the trucking companies are legally required to maintain logs of their truck’s driving history. The records are however destroyed after some time. Delayed action against the company or the driver of the vehicle can result in the company destroying the records leaving behind no proof that could be used in the favor of those injured by truck.

Truck owners are required to maintain such records because these giant vehicles are capable of setting into motion a series of catastrophic events. While the driver itself is not likely to get injured because of the height and massive size of the truck, other people can sustain incurable wounds and injuries, and even wind up losing lives.

If you hire a truck accident Injury Lawyer, the trucking lawyer will commence a trucking lawsuit against the company and via discovery obtain legal permit to investigate the entire scenario, and go through all the necessary details to arrive at a conclusion as to who is the real culprit. If the driver or anyone associated with the truck turns out to be the cause of mishap, the victims’ family may be compensated by them for the truck related injuries.

Filing a lawsuit is essential because if the victim has sustained major injuries in areas like brain, spine or bones fractured, it may completely disable the individual from going back to work. A lawsuit can be a ray of hope for such people.

Your lawyer will go through every single detail of the accident and collect as many evidences as possible to expedite the process and intensify the chances of you wining the case.

Lawsuits related to truck accidents can be quite complex, therefore seek the best possible help. Look for lawyers who can explain the process to you and who have a good reputation in the industry.

Top 5 Reasons Behind Truck Accidents

There are hundreds of rules and laws for road safety, yet thousands of mishaps occur every year. While different reasons are behind different accidents, there are a few, which cause most of the truck accidents. Here, we have enlisted four most common reasons behind truck accidents:

1. Exhaustion - Exhaustion is one of the most common reasons behind many truck accidents, especially when drives keep driving for longer periods, without taking any breaks. Regular and timely breaks are crucial to avoid such misfortunes. This can be on behalf of the truck driver or the car driver or both.

2. Vehicle inspection - Many truck accidents are avoidable by proper vehicle inspection, repair, and maintenance. Sometimes a truck falls into disrepair in order to cut corners, save money, or just out of sheer laziness. Trucks are supposed to be routinely checked to see if they are up to code. It’s not just the law it’s about safety.

3. Being responsible - It is important for all drivers to realize that they need to stay professional and responsible while on the road. Hence, under no circumstance they should drive under the effects of alcohol or drugs or engage in any road rage.

4. Following the speed limit - There are speed limits for a reason. Each and every driver must follow the speed limits. It can surely prevent many dangerous incidents. Just because there is a time limit to get the load from one place to another doesn’t mean one should rush. The modest financial incentive to do things quicker should be outweighed by the greater financial and psychological burden of causing an accident and a permanent truck injury to someone.

5. Tailgating – Always keep a proper distance away from the other vehicles which allows time to react in case something unexpected occurs.

What if someone meets a bad fate, and gets hit by a truck?

There are many rights in the law that gives you protection. To know and use these laws, you need an attorney by your side. To get reliable help after such an incident, you need to look for trucks accidents law firms immediately. There are certain things that need to be done to check for all available coverage and insurance, make sure you are receiving medical attention and deal with mounting medical bills. Also, sometimes you need an expert right away to inspect the truck and the scene of the accident.

Find a lawyer who could understand your situation, and could assist you with appropriate advice and compensation after an accident involving a truck. Apart from medical bills, lost salary and insurance claims, there are many different damages a lawyer can seek on your behalf.

How A Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help You

Safety should be the first and highest priority of every truck driver on road. They should stay alert and focused whenever they are behind the wheel, but when they do not follow these measures, accidents can and will happen.

Whenever a truck accident takes place, it poses more threats of physical injuries (even death) as compared to any other accident. The main reason behind this is the momentum and heavy weight of these large massed vehicles. The heavier the mass, the harder it is to stop and thus a crash leaves a far worse effect on the sufferer than other accidents.

A truck accident does not just bring physical injuries, but can also lead to financial crisis for the victim, as they will have to bear all the medical bills and cannot attend to their work until they recover completely. Things can get even worst in few accidents, where the driver of the other vehicle has a permanent disability as a result of the hard impact.

In case you or anyone you know has been through such a misfortune, you should consult a truck accident injury lawyer and seek legal help. It is a way to hold accountable the culprits responsible for the accident and obtain some modicum of justice. An experienced lawyer can do a detailed investigation, collect all the required evidences, and build a strong case for you. If everything is done properly, generally you will receive an appropriate compensation that will cover all the medial bills you have paid, and also compensate you for the days you could not go to work and for your pain and suffering and other damages. In case the victim is the earning member of the family, and if he has endured permanent disability, suitable compensation may be obtained to ask for loss of income.

Lawyers at truck accident law firms understand the pain of truck accident victims and that is why they try to recover considerable compensation commensurate with the injuries. The lawyers do not charge a fee up front and are only paid if they win your case. They spend their time and money investigating the lawsuit and if for some reason the case loses you don’t owe a dime. There’s no downside to consulting with an accident lawyer who handles these cases as the call is free and confidential. The sooner you obtain counsel, generally the better the chances are for your case since your counsel can work on obtaining and preserving evidence before it is destroyed.

Truck Accident Lawyers– Helping The Injured Obtain Compensation!

The difference between the size of a truck and that of other motor and passenger vehicles is relatively huge, which is why when a normal vehicle collides with a truck the outcome may be fatal. Even in cases where passengers are able to live, they often end up sustaining lifelong injuries and disabilities that require lifelong medical supervision, monitoring and treatment. Those injuries take away their ability to live a normal life ever again, may impact their quality of life and may disable them from ever gaining meaningful employment in the future.

If you or someone you know happens to be a victim of a truck accident, you should know that you should examine whether you are entitled to receive financial compensation, especially if the mishap happened due to a truck driver’s mistake or due to some technical failure in the truck itself.

When such accidents happen, most of the fatal injuries are caused to people driving the other vehicle. That is when the truck collides with the car, the massive truck wins. With injuries there are no human winners through and the cost of the accident is never fully compensable.

This is why there are strict regulations that set out rules regarding speed limit, weight route, truck size, transporting hazardous material and the amount of the material being supplied, as well as work laws related to repair and maintenance.

If a trucking company, owner of trucks, or truck driver is found guilty of not complying with any of these laws, and if their mistake is deemed as the cause of accident, one of these parties may have to compensate the victim. Sometimes, it requires aggressive lawyering for a party to come to terms with the fact that they are at fault.

But to receive compensation, legal help is recommended and usually required, so consulting experienced trucking accident lawyers is always advisable. Legal help should be hired as soon as possible after the mishap so that immediate action could be taken against the wrongdoers and the sufferer could examine the path to receive the compensation they deserve.

As a plaintiff, you can sue any of the parties who caused the accident to happen. Those parties can include the driver, owner, or the trucking firm, as well as manufacturer of the truck or its parts. You can also sue the loader or shipper of the truck, and insurance carrier for the trailer, if they are found guilty. A quality attorney will help preserve all the evidence early, identify the proper parties to hail into court and formulate strategy for you to obtain the maximum relief you may be entitled to.

What Options Do Truck Accident Victims Have?

There are many perils on the roads that impose serious concerns to the safety of the drivers. Bumpy, uneven, narrows roads, poorly lit roads and harsh weather conditions make it more difficult for people to commute. Heavy vehicles like trucks, semi-trucks, and big rigs are equally dangerous.

In case of accidents, trucks can cause a significant amount of damage, considering their massive size. Accidents are always unfortunate; even if they are minor, but if they are caused by these gigantic vehicles, chances are high, the victims are going to suffer for substantially longer period.

There are strict laws and regulations regarding the amount of load allowed to be carried on trucks and other safety measures and rules that truck drivers must abide by.

Despite all the laws, some people fail to take those rules seriously and end up risking other people’s safety. Or they have competing interests, such as safety versus their time to have to deliver a load, or have driven too many miles and have road hypnosis, or their truck is poorly maintained.

When a collision happens between a truck and any other automobile, due to physics regarding speed and weight and density, the trucks generally seem to endure much less damage, while the other party goes may suffer immeasurable amounts of pain and suffering and a permanent truck injury.

Let us take a look at why road accidents happen, especially ones involving trucks. Over speeding is the number one reason for truck accidents. There are specific rules regarding speed limits for these vehicles, but some drivers do not seem to consider those limits seriously. Tailgating and frequent lane changing are other reasons.

If a speeding truck collides with another vehicle, it will cause much more damage, than the damage caused by a slow moving truck. If a truck is tailgating it will have less time to stop or react to unpredictable road conditions.

Truck overloading is another factor. Carrier trucks meant for transporting heavy industrial raw materials must make sure not to overload it to a limit, where the material starts to protrude and flow out, because that is going to jeopardize road safety protocols. Also, the heavier the load, the harder to stop, and the bigger the burst upon impact.

Other factors responsible for road mishaps are equipment failure, poor visibility, driving at night, tailgating, overstressed drivers, attending a phone call while driving, adverse weather, highway hypnosis, and lack of knowledge about the route.

Regardless of the reason, it all boils down to the driver and he is the sole person responsible for driving safely and maintaining the safety of the truck. It is the sheer negligence that makes people meet with road accidents, resulting in ongoing suffering of physical, emotional, and on a financial front.

If any of your loved ones are going through pain due to a truck accident, you should speak with trucking accident lawyers, to discuss your options.

Don’t Let A Truck Accident Kill Your Rights! Get Legal Help!

All kind of road accidents are unfortunate, but the ones in which one of the vehicles involved are commercial vehicles like a truck are considered the most disastrous generally because of their size. A truck accident can be life altering, as there are possibilities of people sustaining severe injuries, which can leave them physically disabled or even result in death or permanent incapiciation.

Apart from the physical loss, people also endure emotional and mental trauma for years. In case of such an incident, the injured person can take years to recover physically. The financial burden due to endless medical expenses that comes along can create havoc for the victim’s family.

The victims go through considerable financial loss, and may even lose their ability to work due to a permanent physical disability. Although in some cases physical disabilities are temporary, which last for months and sometimes years, but in other cases the disability could be permanent, and the victim may never be able to return to work.

There are different reasons behind the occurrence of trucks accidents. It can be due to negligent driving, speeding, improper maintenance of the vehicle, poor road conditions, tailgating or driving without paying attention. Most of the times, it has been seen that truck accidents happen due to the negligence of the driver, or the owner of the trucking company cutting corners and keeping the truck in disrepair.

Since every truck accident claim is different, a lwsuit can be filed against the employer or truck driver as well, depending on the details of accident. All these details of the lawsuit and its legal aspects are best handled by truck accident lawyers who would fight for the rights of people affected by accident and know how to navigate through the complicated legal system and the labyrinth of insurance.

Although it is not possible to undo what happened, the injured has legal rights to demand financial compensation by the truck owner or by the party whose negligence caused the incident to happen. For that, one must consult with one of the accomplished truck accidents law firms to file a lawsuit.

If you know anyone who went through such unfortunate accident, ask them to speak with an attorney to consider whether filing a case can be instrumental in obtaining compensation to help them get adequate finances to cover medical expenses. Different types of compensation can be sought, such as loss of wages, pain and suffering, permanency of injury, etc. and it’s best to speak with an accomplished attorney to maximum your possible recovery and to candidly discuss what the likely results will be.