Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury sustained in the crash of a semi-truck can leave a person with medical bills. It can also cause permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term physical therapy.
After a collision, it is crucial to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney on your side. A professional lawyer can help you prove your case using evidence such as police reports and surveillance footage.
Poorly-Maintained Vehicles
In a lot of cases, trucking companies and owners-operators do not take proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good condition. This can lead to an increase in the number of preventable accidents every year.
Semis and tractor trailers require more frequent maintenance than passenger cars due to their larger dimensions and larger load. Unfortunately working to meet deadlines and maximizing profits may take precedence over maintaining the fleet. This is why trucks can be susceptible to mechanical problems that can lead to devastating accidents.
The brakes on trucks are especially important as they must be able to stop the vehicle and slow it down at any moment. When brake pads lines, return springs, or lines on a truck fail and break, it could lead to serious accidents and fatal injuries. These parts should be regularly checked and repaired as needed to ensure their good working condition.
Inadequately maintained tires can be a major contributor to truck accidents. Tires that are worn-out could lose traction, causing the truck to overturn or slide. If a tire is deficient in some way, such as having the wrong air pressure or improper tread design, it may fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks need regular inspections to identify mechanical problems before they lead to an accident. If an inspection was performed improperly or the repair shop does not follow the manufacturer's guidelines, it can cause an accident. In these cases, the company that hired or oversees the maintenance or repair shop could be held accountable.
Incorrect lights, signals and reflectors are another common cause of truck accident. These elements must function correctly so that drivers can observe and anticipate the movement of the truck particularly in rural areas or at night. However, trucking companies may fail to maintain and inspect these items or the driver could not be able to complete daily safety checks.
A Houston truck accident lawyer will investigate your case and determine who may be responsible for your injuries in the event that you were injured by a badly maintained commercial truck. These investigations can uncover evidence that shows the negligence of the defendant in the accident and assist you obtain the compensation you're due.
Distracted Drivers
There aren't many things that can be more damaging than an accident which involves a commercial vehicle. These massive vehicles weigh up to 25 times more than your vehicle and may cause much greater injuries when they are involved in collisions. While a variety of factors can cause accidents and injuries, distracted driving is one of the most prevalent and dangerous. A driver who is distracted can lose control of the vehicle or overlook a road danger, which can lead to life-threatening injuries.
Truck drivers are required to adhere to strict rules and regulations established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a ban on texting and using mobile phones while driving. But even if truckers obey the rules they could still get distracted and cause an accident. This could be the result of manual distractions like dropping a hand off of the wheel or cognitive distractions like thinking about something else other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving is risky, but many do not realize that other activities, like eating or changing radio stations or talking to passengers, can also be considered distracting. If the trucker is distracted, he may drift into another lane and fail to notice the traffic jam ahead. If a truck driver's focus is diverted, it only takes just a few seconds for a huge vehicle to crash into a passenger car.
It is important to gather details about witnesses and take photos of the scene after an accident if the driver is distracted and causes an accident with a truck. It is essential to know the name of the driver, the company that they work for and who owns the vehicle in case it's an independent contractor. This can have an impact on who is liable for the accident, since it is the trucking company's responsibility to find competent and skilled truck drivers. If the trucking company is found partially responsible for your accident, it may be liable to you for both economic and non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions between trucks are not uncommon and can cause severe injuries. These accidents can happen in many different situations such as at a stop sign or an intersection when the trucker doesn't check behind him for any traffic that is coming up. It can also happen when an automobile crosses the truck's path, forcing the driver of the truck to stop suddenly without warning. The trucker can then slam into the car from behind.
It can be difficult to establish fault when there's rear-end collisions because it isn't always certain which vehicle was at fault. An experienced lawyer can gather evidence to show that the driver in the back caused the accident by following too closely or driving erratically. This can be evidence in the form of photos as well as police reports and eyewitness testimony, aswell as skid marks on the road.
The driver in the front of the car could be held accountable for the incident. This can happen if they cut someone off or fail utilize a turn signal in the same manner as any other reasonable person would do. This kind of situation is where modified comparative negligence laws could be applied, in which the jury assigns a percentage of blame to each party and damages are reduced accordingly.
Lacerations and Bruises
The rear of the vehicle has the greatest impact during a rear-end collision so occupants are more likely to suffer serious injuries when they hit their head against the dashboard or back windows. The force of the crash can cause broken bones if the occupants of the vehicle are thrown around the interior of the vehicle. The spine is a vulnerable area and injuries to it can be particularly severe. The spinal cord houses a number of nerves that control the body, so any injury to the spinal cord could cause significant and permanent issues for those affected.
In addition to these types of injuries, victims might also suffer from psychological and emotional trauma as a result of being involved in a devastating crash. They may experience difficulty getting enough sleep or concentrating, which can result in depression and anxiety. They may also experience financial hardship and stress if they are unable work due to an injury. An attorney can investigate all possible sources of liability and assist a victim in seeking an appropriate amount of compensation for their loss.
The trailer is not working properly
All vehicles, regardless of whether they're a car or van, truck flatbed, van, or must be securely connected to their trailers. Unintentionally removing a trailer's hitch can cause catastrophic accidents that lead to severe injuries, or even death. If you've been injured in an accident involving the trailer that has run away, contact an experienced lawyer for car accidents who specializes in cases involving hitch failure promptly to discuss your legal options.
A malfunctioning trailer hitch may be caused by a variety of things, from improper secured to faulty design. It could also be due to an error on the part of the manufacturer, where case-by-case product liability laws may apply. The company or person responsible for a defective trailer can be held accountable for the victims' medical costs along with auto repair expenses and other losses resulting from the incident.
For instance there was a fatal crash that was reported in January 2014 on an Ohio road referred to locally as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came loose from the truck and crashed head-on into two cars behind it. Initial investigations pointed out that the accident was due to the truck driver's negligence for not inspecting and secure the hitch. In gainesville semi truck accident attorney , however the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the possibility that a flaw in the hitch and an Ultra LT manufactured Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama, was the reason for the crash.
As a result of the malfunctioning hitch, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles before plunging into them head-on. The result was numerous fatalities and serious injuries for the drivers.
The driver of the truck involved in this accident was convicted of vehicular manslaughter. However experts believe that he could have prevented the collision with other vehicles had he done a thorough visual inspection of his trailer and ensured that all connections were tight. Faulty trailer hitsches can cause major catastrophes, since these types of incidents typically involve a substantial amount of speed and could easily wipe smaller cars or motorcycles. In these instances, the trailer may distort the car's frame and cause razor-sharp metal fragments to injure passengers.