Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury sustained during a crash with a semi truck can bury a person with medical expenses. It can also lead to permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and ongoing physical therapy.
It is important to have a reputable New York truck accident lawyer to assist you after an accident. A professional lawyer can assist you in proving your case with evidence such as police reports and surveillance footage.
Vehicles that are poorly maintained
Owner-operators and trucking companies typically fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that their vehicles are in good shape. This negligence results in many preventable accidents each year.
Compared to passenger cars, tractor-trailers and semis require more frequent maintenance due to their size and weight. load. Unfortunately, the pressure of meeting deadlines and maximizing profits can overtake maintaining the fleet. As a result, trucks can become prone to mechanical failures that could cause devastating accidents.
The brakes on a truck must be able to stop and slow down the vehicle at a moment's notice. If the pads of a truck's brakes, 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 when needed to keep them in good condition.
Tires that are not properly maintained may contribute to truck accidents. Worn tires can lose traction, which causes the truck to slide or even roll over. Tires that are defective or damaged, whether due to improper air pressure or tread design could fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks need regular inspections to spot mechanical issues prior to causing an accident. However, if the inspection is done incorrectly or the repair shop fails to follow the manufacturer's guidelines it could lead to a crash. In these situations, a company that commissioned the repair or maintenance shop or managed it may be held accountable.
Incorrect lights, signals and reflectors are also a frequent reason for truck accidents. These components must be in good functioning to allow drivers to see their truck and anticipate its movements, particularly in rural areas or at night. Trucking companies or drivers could not maintain and inspect these elements, or they may not perform daily safety inspections.
A reliable Houston truck accident lawyer can investigate your case to determine who could be accountable for your damages when you've been injured in an accident caused by a faulty maintenance of a commercial truck. The investigation can uncover evidence that demonstrates the negligence of the defendant in the accident and help you obtain the compensation you are entitled to.
Distracted Drivers
There aren't many events as devastating as an accident with a commercial truck. These huge vehicles can weigh up 25 times more than a car and can cause more severe injuries in an accident. While a variety of factors can cause accidents that result from distracted driving, it is one of the most common and dangerous. A truck driver who is distracted could lose control of their vehicle or fail to notice an issue on the road, which can lead to life-threatening injuries.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict rules and rules for truck drivers. This includes a prohibition against texting or using mobile phones while driving. Even if truckers abide by the rules, they may be distracted and cause an accident. This is often caused by manual distractions such as not having your hands on the steering wheel or mental distractions such as thinking about something other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving can be risky, but many do not realize that other activities, such as eating or changing radio stations or chatting with passengers, could also be considered to be distracting. When a trucker is distracted, they could get lost in a lane or fail to see the traffic jam ahead of them. When a truck driver's attention is diverted, it will only take one second for a massive vehicle to hit a motorist car.
If a car accident occurs due to distracted drivers, it is important to take photographs of the scene of the accident and collect the name and contact information of any witnesses. It is essential to know the name of the driver, the company for which they work, and who owns the vehicle in case it's an independent contractor. This could influence on who is responsible for the accident, because it is the responsibility of the trucking company to hire competent and skilled truck drivers. If clovis semi truck accident law firm is found partially responsible for the accident, it could be liable to you for any economic and non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end truck collisions are common and can cause serious injuries. They can occur in a variety of settings for example, at a red light or stop sign when the trucker fails to look behind them for any traffic that is coming up. It can also happen when vehicles cross the truck's route, causing the driver of the truck to stop suddenly without warning. The trucker might then slam into the car from behind.
It can be difficult to prove fault when there is rear-end collisions as it's not always evident which vehicle was responsible. A skilled attorney can help find evidence to prove that the driver behind caused the accident because they followed too closely or driving erratically. This could include evidence such as photos, police reports, eyewitness testimony and skid marks left on the roadway.
Sometimes, the driver in the front might be liable for the accident also. This can happen when they cut someone off or fail to obey their turn signal in the manner that a reasonable person would, or slam on the brakes in the last second and causing the driver behind to slam into the car directly in front of them. In these situations modified comparative negligence laws may be used. The jury will assign a percentage of blame to each of the parties. Damages will be reduced accordingly.
Lacerations, Bruises and Bruises
In a rear-end crash the rear-end of the car is the part that takes the most impact. This means that the drivers are most at risk of serious injuries if they hit their heads against the dashboard or the back window. The force of the crash can also cause broken bones if the occupants are thrown around the interior of the car. Spinal injuries can be very serious. Injuries to the spine can cause serious and lasting effects on victims.
In addition to these types of injuries, victims may suffer from psychological and emotional traumas as a result of being in a horrific crash. They may have difficulty being able to sleep or concentrate, which can result in anxiety and depression. They may also face financial hardship and stress if they are unable work due to their injury. An attorney can examine the possible sources of liability to assist a victim in receiving fair compensation for their loss.
The trailer hitches are faulty.
All vehicles, whether they are a car or van, truck flatbed, van should be securely connected to their trailers. If a trailer goes unhitched, it can result in catastrophic accidents that cause serious injuries or even death. If you've been injured by the trailer that is running away, you should contact an experienced vehicle accident lawyer with a specialization in cases of hitch failure as soon as you can to discuss your legal options.
The reason behind a defective trailer hitch can be a variety of things that can be traced to improper securing or defective design. It could be caused by a defect on the part of the manufacturer, in which case, product liability laws could apply. The person or company that is at the fault for a trailer that is defective is responsible for medical bills of victims, auto repair costs, as well as other losses that result from the incident.
For instance in a fatal crash that took place in January 2014 on an Ohio road locally known as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came out of the truck and crashed head-on into two cars behind it. The initial investigation attributed the crash to the truck driver's negligence in failing examine and secure the hitch. However, 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 in Trussville, Alabama -- to fail on a significant percentage of occasions.
As a result of the hitch that was defective, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles and then crashed into them head-on. This led to numerous deaths and serious injuries to the drivers of the vehicles.
The truck driver in the accident was found guilty of vehicular homicide. However, experts suggest that he could've avoided the collision by conducting an extensive inspection of his trailer to ensure that all connections were secure. A faulty trailer hitch can cause major accidents. These types of accidents are typically high-speed and are able to sidewipe motorcycles or other smaller vehicles. In such cases, the trailer can distort a car's frame and force steel fragments that are razor-sharp to crush passengers inside.