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Accidents involving semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, and other large commercial vehicles are often severe and can cause catastrophic injuries. But beyond the severity of the accident and the injuries that can be caused, truck accidents are different from car accidents because they are oftentimes more complex and there are different laws available to help prove negligence. After a truck accident injury, an experienced lawyer can help prove liability and obtain the compensation you and your family deserve.
Semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, and other commercial vehicles are bigger and heavier than passenger vehicles. A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. A vehicle that size traveling at approximately 60 mph generates tremendous force. When a semi-truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the results are almost always catastrophic and can result in serious, life-threatening injuries, such as:
These injuries are often severe, painful, and expensive to treat. Because truck accidents often cause life-altering injuries, the stakes are high and you need an experienced truck accident injury law firm on your side.
Truck accidents are different than a crash involving two cars because if you file a lawsuit, it will involve more parties than just both drivers In addition to the truck driver, the trucking company, the shipper, the broker, the truck manufacturer, and the people responsible for maintaining and loading the truck could also be responsible for causing the accident. And behind each of these potential defendants is an insurance company that will fight to pay you and your family as little as possible.
The trucking industry is governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR), which was established in 2000 to regulate the trucking industry and improve trucking safety across the country. These rules apply to commercial truck drivers in the United States. When truck drivers and trucking companies violate these regulations, they put other drivers at risk.
The FMCSR limits the number of consecutive hours a truck driver can operate a vehicle. Drivers must take at least one 30-minute break every 8 hours and must rest for at least 10 hours after 14 hours on duty. They cannot drive more than 11 hours during a 14-hour day, 60 hours in a 7-day period, and 70 hours in 8 days.
Unfortunately, many truck drivers face pressure to deliver loads on schedule and drive more than the regulations allow. Truck drivers who violate these rules can experience extreme fatigue, putting other drivers at risk.
Truck drivers must maintain logbooks to demonstrate compliance with FMCSR hours of service regulations. A truck accident injury lawyer can use these logbooks to prove a violation of the FMCSR.
Sometimes drivers keep two logbooks—one containing false information they show to law enforcement officials and another containing the truth. Showing a truck driver was keeping a false logbook and caused an accident because they were tired can be a powerful argument to prove the truck driver was negligent.
The FMCSR imposes an 80,000-pound limit on trucks traveling across state lines and mandates how cargo is loaded and secured. An improperly or overloaded truck creates a road hazard because it is more difficult to control and is too heavy to stop or maneuver properly.
Modern semi-trucks are equipped with “black box” data recording devices that may contain information about the truck’s movement and the truck driver’s activities leading up to the crash. Generally, two kinds of data recording devices could be in a semi-truck. An Event Data Recorder (EDR) may contain technical information about the vehicle in the seconds leading up to a crash. The Electronic Logging Device (ELD) records information about the driver’s activities and can be used to establish violations of federal regulations.
A truck accident injury lawyer can obtain and analyze the black box data to better understand the cause of the crash or prove the driver was out of compliance with federal regulations.
When trucking accidents cause serious injuries, you need a law firm that will fight for the compensation you and your family deserve. At McKinney Vos, our experienced truck accident injury lawyers have handled over 1,000 cases for accident victims and their families in complex, high-stakes personal injury and wrongful death litigation. We can evaluate your truck accident injury claim, provide advice on how to proceed, and help you and your family obtain the compensation you need. Contact us today to schedule a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation to discuss your truck accident injury claim and how we can help.
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