Semi Truck Accident Law
A semi-truck accident could cause an injury that is serious enough to cost a person a fortune in medical bills. It can also cause permanent disabilities requiring expensive equipment and ongoing physical therapy.
It is crucial to have a skilled New York truck accident lawyer at your side following an accident. A qualified attorney will assist you in proving your case by using evidence such as police reports and surveillance footage, among others.
Poorly maintained vehicles
In a lot of cases, trucking companies and owner-operators don't take the proper steps to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition. This causes a large percentage of preventable accidents every year.
As compared to passenger cars tractor-trailers and semis need more frequent maintenance due to their size and heavier loads. However working to meet deadlines and maximizing profits often take precedence over the maintenance of the fleet. This is why trucks can be susceptible to mechanical breakdowns that can could cause devastating accidents.
The brakes on trucks are especially important since they have to stop the vehicle and slow it down at an instant's notice. When brake pads lines, return springs, or lines on a truck wear out and break, it could lead to serious accidents and fatal injuries. It is vital to have these parts regularly inspected and replaced when required to keep them in good working condition.
Tires that are not maintained properly can be a major contributor to truck accidents. Tires that are worn out may lose traction and cause the truck to skid or even rollover. Tires that are defective, whether it's due to inadequate tread design or air pressure, can fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks require regular inspections to spot mechanical issues before they cause an accident. However, if an inspection is done incorrectly or the repair shop does not follow the manufacturer's instructions, it could cause an accident. In such cases the company that hired or supervising the maintenance or repair shop could be held accountable.
Poorly functioning lights, signals and reflectors are also a frequent reason for truck accidents. These components must function properly to allow drivers to be aware of and anticipate the truck's movements, especially when driving in rural areas or at night. However, trucking companies may fail to maintain and inspect these components or the driver might fail to conduct regular safety inspections.
A reputable Houston truck accident lawyer can investigate your case to determine who could be accountable for your injuries if you were injured in an accident caused by a poorly maintained commercial truck. The investigation can uncover evidence that demonstrates the negligence of the defendant in the crash and help you get the compensation you're entitled to.
Distracted Drivers
There are few things more devastating than an incident with a commercial truck. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times the weight of your vehicle and can cause a lot more injuries if they are involved in collisions. While a variety of factors can contribute to accidents, distracted driving is one of the most common and dangerous. A truck driver who is distracted may lose control of their vehicle, or fail to see a hazard in the roadway, which could 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 prohibition on texting or using cellular phones while driving. But even if truckers follow the rules, they are still prone to be distracted and cause crashes. This is often caused by accidental distractions, such as not having your hands on the steering wheel or cognitive distractions such as thinking about something other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving is risky, but many do not realize that other activities, like eating, changing radio stations, or talking to passengers, can also be considered distracting. When a trucker is distracted, they might get lost in a lane or fail to notice the traffic jam ahead of them. It only takes a fraction of a second for a big truck to collide with a vehicle if the trucker's mind is diverted.
When a truck accident occurs due to an unintentionally distracted driver it is crucial to take photos of the scene of collision and gather the contact details and name of witnesses. It is also beneficial to find out the name of the driver who is driving the truck and the company they work for, aswell in determining who owns the truck if they are an independent contractor. This could affect who is liable for your incident since the trucking company is responsible for securing skilled and competent truck drivers. If the trucking company is found be partially responsible for your accident, they could be liable for your economic as well as non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions with trucks are common and often cause serious injuries. They can happen in a variety of situations like a red light or stop signal, where the trucker is unable to observe the road ahead for any traffic that is coming up. They can also happen when a car comes in front of the truck, forcing the driver to hit their brakes without warning. The trucker may then crash into the car from behind.
It can be difficult to establish fault when there's rear-end collisions because it isn't always evident who was at fault. However, a skilled attorney can gather evidence to show that the driver in the rear caused the crash due to following too closely or driving while distracted. This could include evidence such as photos, police reports eyewitness testimony and skid marks left on the roadway.
The driver in the front of the car could be held accountable for the accident. This can happen when they cut someone off, fail to use their turn signal in the way that a reasonable person would, or decide to slam on the brakes at the last minute and cause the driver in the back to crash into the car directly in front of them. This type of scenario is where modified comparative negligence laws can be used, in which the jury assigns a percentage of blame to each party and damages are reduced accordingly.
Lacerations and Bruises
In a rear-end crash, the rear-end of the car is the part that takes the most impact. This means that people in the car are at risk of serious injuries if they crash their heads against the dashboard or the back window. The impact of the crash could cause broken bones if the occupants are thrown around the inside of the vehicle. Spinal injuries can be severe. Spinal injuries can have long-lasting and serious consequences for victims.
A person who is the victim of a serious accident might also suffer psychological and emotional trauma. They might have trouble sleeping or concentrating, which may cause anxiety and depression. They could also be facing financial hardship and stress when they are unable to work due to their injury. An attorney can examine any possible liability sources and help a victim seek fair compensation for their expenses.
Faulty trailer hitches
All vehicles, whether they are a car, van, truck flatbed, van, or are required to be securely connected to their trailers. If a trailer goes unhitched, it can lead to catastrophic accidents that result in severe injuries or even death. If you've been injured in a car accident caused by a runaway truck get in touch with an experienced lawyer who specializes in hitch failure cases to discuss your legal options.
A malfunctioning trailer hitch may be caused by many different things, from improper secured to faulty design. It could be caused by a defect on the part of the manufacturer, where case-by-case product liability laws may apply. The company or the person responsible for a trailer that is defective could be held responsible for the victims' medical expenses or auto repair expenses, as well as other losses that result from the incident.
In an accident that killed a person on a road in Ohio known as "Devil's Backbone" in January 2014 the trailer was detached from the truck. It crashed into two cars directly behind it. The initial investigation blamed the accident to the truck driver's negligence in failing examine and secure the hitch. In June 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began to investigate the possibility that a manufacturing defect had caused the hitch that was involved in the crash -it was an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel of Trussville, Alabama -- to fail on a significant proportion of times.
As a result of the defective hitch The trailer struck the sides of the vehicles before crashing into them head-on. The result was numerous fatalities and serious injuries for the drivers.
The driver of the truck involved in the incident was found guilty of vehicular murder, however experts say that he could have prevented the collision with other vehicles if he had done a thorough visual inspection of his trailer and ensured that all connections were tight. A faulty hitch on a trailer can lead to major disasters, as these incidents often involve a large amount of speed and could easily wipe smaller cars or motorcycles. In anaheim semi truck accident lawyer , the trailer can distort the frame of a vehicle and force steel fragments that are razor-sharp to sever the limbs of passengers in.