Semi Truck Accident Law
A semi-truck crash can result in an injury of a serious nature that could cost a person a lot in medical expenses. It can also lead to permanent disabilities requiring expensive equipment and long-term physical therapy.
After a collision is essential to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney at your side. A qualified attorney can assist you in proving your case by using evidence like police reports or surveillance footage, for instance.
Poorly maintained vehicles
In a lot of cases, trucking companies and owner-operators don't take the appropriate steps to make sure their vehicles are in good condition. This leads to a large percentage of preventable accidents every year.
Comparatively to passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers and semis will require more frequent maintenance due to their size and heavy load. However, the pressure of meeting deadlines and maximising profits is often more important than maintaining the fleet. In the end, trucks are susceptible to mechanical problems that can cause catastrophic accidents.
The brakes of trucks are crucial since they have to stop the vehicle and slow it down at the smallest of moments. When brake pads lines, return springs, or lines on a truck wear out and break, it could lead to serious accidents and fatal injuries. These components should be checked regularly and repaired as needed to ensure their good working condition.
Tires that aren't maintained can be a major factor in truck accidents. Tires that are worn out may lose traction and cause the truck to rollover or slide. If a tire is damaged in some way, like having the incorrect air pressure or tread design, it may fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks must undergo regular inspections to identify mechanical issues prior to causing an accident. If an inspection is conducted incorrectly or the repair shop fails to follow the manufacturer's guidelines this could result in an accident. In such cases, a company that employed the repair or maintenance company or managed it may be held accountable.
Incorrect lights, signals and reflectors are another common cause of truck accident. These elements must be properly functioning to allow drivers to see the truck and anticipate its movements, especially in rural areas or at night. Drivers and trucking companies could not maintain and inspect these items, or may not perform daily safety inspections.
A Houston truck accident lawyer can investigate your case and determine who may be responsible for your damages in the event that you are injured by a badly maintained commercial truck. This investigation could uncover evidence proving the defendant's negligence and help you get the compensation you are entitled to.
Distracted Drivers
The result of a collision involving commercial trucks could be catastrophic. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times more than your vehicle and can cause more injuries when they are involved in a collision. While a variety of factors can contribute to accidents that result from distracted driving, it is one of the most frequent and risky. A driver who is distracted could lose control of their vehicle or overlook an opportunity to avoid a road accident which could lead to serious and life-threatening injuries.
Truck drivers must follow strict rules and regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a prohibition on texting or using mobile phones while driving. Even if truckers obey the rules, they may be distracted and cause an accident. This could be because of manual distractions such as taking their hands off the steering wheel or mental distractions like thinking about something other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving can be dangerous, but few know that other activities, like eating or changing radio stations or conversing with passengers are also considered to be distracting. If a trucker is distracted, he may drift into another area and not be aware of the traffic jam in front of him. It only takes a split second for a huge truck to collide with a vehicle when the driver's attention is diverted.
It is crucial to gather information about any witnesses and also take pictures of the scene of the accident when an unintentionally distracted driver causes a truck crash. It is also important to know the name of the truck driver and the company they work for, aswell and who owns the truck if it's an independent contractor. This could impact who is liable for your accident, as the trucking company is responsible for securing competent and skilled truck drivers. If the trucking company is found to be partly responsible for your accident, they could be held responsible for your economic as well as non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions between trucks are quite common and can result in serious injuries. They can occur in a variety situations for example, at an intersection, a stop signal when the trucker fails to look behind them for oncoming traffic. It could also happen when vehicles cross the truck's path, which forces the driver of the truck to brake abruptly without warning. The trucker may then slam the car from behind.
It is often difficult to prove fault in rear-end collisions, since it is not always obvious which vehicle caused the crash. However, a skilled lawyer can assist in gathering evidence that shows the driver at the rear was responsible for the crash through following too closely or being distracted while driving. This can include evidence such as photographs, police reports, eyewitness testimony, and skid marks in the road.
Sometimes the driver in front could be found to be at fault for the crash also. This could happen if they cut someone off, fail to use their turn signal in the manner that a reasonable person would, or decide to slam on the brakes in the last second and causing the driver in the back to crash into the vehicle directly in the front of them. In this scenario modified comparative negligence laws could be used. The jury will determine a percentage of the blame to each of the parties. Damages are then reduced according to.
Lacerations, Bruises and Bruises
The rear end of the vehicle experiences the most impact in a rear-end collision meaning that occupants can sustain serious injuries as they smash their head against the dashboard or back windows. They may also break bones due to being torn around inside the car by the force of the collision. Spinal injuries are often severe. Injuries to the spine can have serious and long-lasting consequences for victims.
A person who is the victim of a serious accident may also suffer from emotional and psychological trauma. They may have difficulty getting enough sleep or concentrating, which may result in anxiety and depression. el cajon semi truck accident attorney may also experience financial hardship and stress when they cannot work due to their injury. An attorney can examine the potential sources of liability to help a victim receive the right amount of compensation for their loss.
Problematic trailer hitches
Regardless of whether you're driving a car, a van, truck, or a flatbed, all vehicles must to be securely connected to their trailers. Unintentionally pulling a trailer off can cause catastrophic accidents that lead to severe injuries, or even death. If you've suffered injuries in a collision involving the trailer that has run away, contact an experienced lawyer for car accidents that specializes in cases of failure of the hitch as soon as you can to discuss your legal options.
A damaged trailer hitch could be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from inadequate securing to defective design. It could be due to a defect on the part of the manufacturer where case-by-case product liability laws may apply. The company or person at responsible for the malfunction of a trailer is liable for medical bills of victims and auto repair expenses, and other losses arising from the incident.
In an accident that killed a person on a highway in Ohio known as "Devil's Backbone" in January 2014 a trailer detached from the truck. It then crashed into two cars that were directly behind it. The initial investigation attributed the accident to the driver's inattention to inspect 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 -one of the Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama -- to malfunction on a high proportion of times.
Due to the hitch that was defective due to the hitch's failure, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles and then crashed into them head-on. This resulted in multiple fatalities and serious injuries to the drivers of the vehicles.
The truck driver in the accident was found guilty of vehicular homicide. However experts believe that he could have avoided the crash had he conducted an in-depth inspection of his trailer to make sure all connections were tight. Faulty trailer hitches can cause major accidents. These incidents are often high-speed and are able to sidewipe motorcycles or smaller cars. In these instances the trailer may distort the car's frame and push razor sharp metal fragments to strike the passengers inside.