Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury resulting from a crash with semi-trucks can cost someone with medical bills. It can also lead to permanent disabilities requiring expensive equipment and long-term physical therapy.
After a crash, it is crucial to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney on your side. A lawyer with experience can help to prove your case using evidence such as police reports or surveillance camera footage and much more.
Poorly maintained vehicles
In many instances trucking firms and owners-operators do not take appropriate steps to ensure that their vehicles are in good working condition. This leads to an increase in the number of preventable accidents occurring every year.
Semis and tractor trailers require more frequent maintenance than passenger cars because of their larger dimensions and larger weight. However keeping deadlines and increasing profits often take precedence over the maintenance of a fleet. Trucks can be prone to mechanical problems that could cause devastating accidents.
The brakes on a truck have to be able to stop and slow down the vehicle at a moment's notice. If the brake pads of a truck lines, lines, or return springs fail they can result in serious collisions and fatal injuries. It is crucial that these components are regularly inspected and replaced as required to ensure that they remain in good working order.
Poor-maintained tires can also be a major cause of truck accidents. Tires that are worn down can cause the tires to lose traction, which causes the truck to slide or even rollover. Tires that are defective, whether it's due to incorrect tread design or air pressure could fail catastrophically.
The inspections are routine for trucks in addition to regular maintenance to identify mechanical issues before they can cause an accident. If an inspection is conducted improperly or the repair shop does not adhere to the manufacturer's specifications this could result in an accident. In such cases, the company that hired or oversees the maintenance or repair shop could be held accountable.
Another common cause of truck accidents is malfunctioning signals, lights and reflectors. These devices must be correctly working to enable drivers to see the truck and anticipate its movements, particularly in rural areas or after dark. Trucking companies or drivers may not be able to maintain and inspect these items, or may not be able to conduct daily safety inspections.
A reliable Houston truck accident lawyer will examine your case to determine who is accountable for your damages after you've been injured during an accident caused by a poorly maintained commercial truck. These investigations can reveal evidence of the defendant's negligence and help you obtain the compensation you're entitled to.
Distracted schaumburg semi truck accident lawsuit
There are few things more devastating than an accident that involves a commercial truck. These massive vehicles can weigh as much as 25 times more than your car and cause a lot more injuries in a crash. While many factors cause accidents and injuries, distracted driving is one of the most prevalent and risky. A truck driver who is distracted may lose control of their vehicle, or fail to see an accident on the road, which could lead to severe and life-changing injuries.
Truck drivers must follow strict rules and regulations that have been formulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a ban on texting and the use of cell phones while operating their vehicles. However, even when truckers follow the rules, they are still prone to be distracted and cause an accident. This could be the result of distractions caused by manual actions like taking their hands off the wheel or mental distractions such as thinking about something else other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving can be risky, but not many know that other activities, such as eating or changing radio stations or chatting with passengers, can also be considered distracting. When a trucker gets distracted, it is possible that he will drift into a different area and not be aware of the traffic jam in front of him. It only takes a fraction of a second for a big truck to strike a passenger vehicle when the trucker's focus is diverted.
It is important to gather information about any witnesses and take photos of the scene of the crash when a distracted driver causes a crash of a truck. It is important to know the name of the driver, the company that they work for, and who is the owner of the vehicle if it's an independent contractor. This could impact on who's responsible for the accident, since it is the trucking company's responsibility to employ competent and experienced truck drivers. If the trucking company is found be partly responsible for your accident, they may be held accountable for your financial as well as non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions between trucks are quite common and can result in serious injuries. These accidents can happen in a variety of circumstances like at the stop sign or a red light when a trucker fails to check ahead for traffic coming in. It can also happen when cars cross the truck's path, which forces the driver of the truck to stop abruptly without warning. The trucker might then slam into the car from behind.
It is often difficult to prove fault in a rear-end crash, as it's not always clear what vehicle caused the accident. An experienced lawyer can assist in gathering evidence that proves the driver in the rear caused the crash due to following too closely or driving distracted. The evidence can include photographs as well as police reports and eyewitness testimony, aswell as skid marks in the road.
The driver in the front of the car could also be accountable for the incident. This can happen if they cut someone off or fail utilize a turn signal in the same manner as any reasonable person would do. This kind of situation is where modified comparative negligence laws could come into play, where the jury assigns a percentage to each party and damages are reduced accordingly.
Lacerations and Bruises
The rear-end of the car is the one that is most affected in a rear-end crash, meaning that occupants can sustain serious injuries when they hit their head against the dashboard or back windows. They also may break bones due to being bounced around the interior of the vehicle by the force of the collision. The spine is a vulnerable area and injuries to it can be particularly severe. The spinal cord contains many nerves that regulate the body, therefore any damage to the spinal column may cause significant and permanent issues for the victims.
In addition to these kinds of injuries, the victim may also experience psychological and emotional trauma as a result of being involved in a devastating crash. They may have trouble getting enough sleep or concentrating, which can lead them to depression and anxiety. If they are unable work due to the severity of their injury, it can create stress and financial hardship. An attorney can examine the possible causes of liability to help a victim receive the right amount of compensation for their loss.
A problem with trailer hitches
No matter if you're driving the vehicle of a car, truck, a van or a flatbed, all vehicles must to be securely connected to their trailers. If a trailer is suddenly unhitched, it can cause a catastrophic accident that could result in severe injuries or even death. If you've been injured in a vehicle accident caused by a runaway truck, contact an experienced attorney who is specialized in cases involving hitch failure to discuss your legal options.
A defective trailer hitch could be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from inadequate security to design flaws. It could be due to an issue on the part of the manufacturer in which case product liability law may apply. The company or the person responsible for a defective trailer could be held responsible for the victim's medical expenses as well as auto repair costs and other losses that result from the incident.
For instance the fatal crash that took place in January 2014 on an Ohio road referred to locally as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came off the truck and slid over two cars ahead of it. Initial investigations attributed the accident to the truck driver’s negligence in failing to check and secure the hitch. But in June 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the possibility that a manufacturing defect had caused the hitch involved in the crash -- an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama -- to fail on a large proportion of times.
The trailer hit the side of the vehicles, and then crashed into them. This led to multiple deaths and serious injuries to drivers of the vehicles.
The truck driver involved in the incident was found guilty of vehicular murder, however experts say he could have avoided the crash in the event that he had conducted an exhaustive inspection of his trailer to ensure all connections were tight. A faulty trailer hitch can lead to major disasters. These accidents are typically high-speed and are able to sidewipe motorcycles or smaller cars. In these situations the trailer could deform the frame of a car and result in sharp metal fragments to injure passengers.