Semi Truck Accident Law

A semi truck accident-truck accident could cause an injury of a serious nature that could cost a person a lot in medical bills. It can also cause permanent disabilities requiring expensive equipment and long-term physical therapy.

It is crucial to have a professional New York truck accident lawyer on your side following a crash. A skilled attorney can to prove your case using evidence like police reports, surveillance camera footage, and much more.

Poorly-Maintained Vehicles

Owner-operators and trucking companies often fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that their vehicles are in good shape. This negligence results in an increase in the number of preventable accidents each year.

As compared to passenger cars tractor-trailers and semis require more frequent maintenance due to their size and heavy loads. Unfortunately, the pressure of meeting deadlines and maximizing profits often takes precedence over maintaining the fleet. Trucks are susceptible to mechanical issues that could result in devastating accidents.

The brakes on trucks must be able stop and slow down the vehicle at a minute's notice. When the brake pads on a truck, lines, or return springs fail they could result in serious collisions and fatal injuries. These components should be checked regularly and repaired when necessary to ensure they are in good condition.

A poorly maintained tire can also be a major factor in truck accidents. Tires that are worn-out can lose traction and cause the truck to roll over or slide. Tires that are defective, whether it's due to improper tread design or air pressure may fail catastrophically.

In addition to regular maintenance, trucks also require regular inspections to identify mechanical issues before they can cause an accident. However, if an inspection is performed incorrectly or the repair shop does not follow the manufacturer's instructions this could result in an accident. In such cases, the company that hired or supervised the maintenance or repair shop could be held responsible.

Incorrect lights, signals and reflectors are another common reason for truck accidents. These devices must be correctly functioning to allow drivers to see their truck and anticipate its movements, especially in rural areas or at night. However, trucking companies could neglect to inspect and maintain these equipments or the driver might fail to conduct regular safety checks.

A reputable Houston truck accident lawyer can examine your case to determine who is liable for your damages should you be injured in an accident with a poorly-maintained commercial truck. The investigation can uncover evidence that proves the negligence of the defendant in the crash and help you recover the compensation you're entitled to.

Distracted Drivers

There are few things more devastating than an incident which involves a commercial vehicle. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times more than your vehicle and can cause more serious injuries when they are involved in a collision. Distracted driving is among the many factors that contribute to accidents. A truck driver who is distracted might lose control of their vehicle, or fail to see an issue on the roadway, which could lead to life-changing injuries.

Truck drivers are required to adhere to strict rules and regulations formulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a prohibition on texting or using cell phones while driving. But even if truckers follow the rules, they could still get distracted and cause crash. This is often caused by manual distractions like turning your back on the steering wheel or mental 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 or changing radio stations or chatting with passengers, could also be considered to be distracting. If a truck driver is distracted, they may wander off into another lane, or fail to see a traffic jam up ahead of them. It only takes a split second for a big truck to hit a passenger vehicle when the trucker's attention wanders.

It is important to collect information on witnesses and to take photographs of the accident scene when the driver is distracted and causes a truck crash. It is important to know the name of the driver, the company for which they work, and who is the owner of the vehicle if it's an independent contractor. This could impact who is accountable for your accident since the trucking company is responsible for hiring competent and skilled truck drivers. If the trucking company is found to be partially at fault for the accident, they may be liable for your economic and non-economic damages.

Rear-End Collisions

Rear-end truck collisions are quite common and can cause serious injuries. They can occur in a variety of settings like the stop or red light signal, where the trucker is unable to observe the road ahead for any traffic that is coming up. It could also happen when cars cross the truck's route, causing the driver of the truck to stop suddenly without warning. The trucker could then hit the car from behind.

It is often difficult to prove fault in a rear-end crash, as it is not always obvious which vehicle was responsible for the crash. However, an experienced lawyer can assist in gathering evidence that shows the driver behind caused the crash by following too closely or being distracted while driving. This evidence could include photos as well as police reports and eyewitness testimony as well as skid marks in the road.

Sometimes, the driver in the front could be the one responsible for the accident as well. This can happen when they cut off someone else or fail to obey their turn signal in the way that a reasonable person would, or hit on the brakes at the last minute and causing the driver behind to slam into the car directly in the front. This is where modified comparative negligence laws can be used, in which the jury determines a percentage of the fault to each party and damages are reduced accordingly.

Lacerations and Bruises

The rear-end of the vehicle experiences the most impact in a rear-end collision, which means that the occupants could suffer serious injuries after hitting their head against the dashboard or the back window. They can also suffer broken bones due to being bounced around the interior of the car by the force of the collision. The severity of spinal injuries can be devastating. The spinal cord contains a lot of nerves that control the body, so any damage to the spinal column could cause significant and permanent issues for those affected.

A victim of a serious accident may also suffer from psychological and emotional trauma. They may have difficulty sleeping or concentrating. This can result in anxiety and depression. They may also experience stress and financial strain when they are unable to work because of an injury. An attorney can look into all possible sources of liability and assist a victim in seeking fair compensation for their expenses.

Faulty Trailer Hitches

All vehicles, semi truck accident regardless of whether they are a car, a truck, van flatbed, van, need to be securely connected to their trailers. If a trailer becomes unhitched, it can cause catastrophic accidents that cause serious injuries or death. If you have been injured in a car accident caused by a runaway truck get in touch with an experienced lawyer who is specialized in cases involving hitch failure to discuss your legal options.

A malfunctioning trailer hitch may result from a variety factors, ranging from inadequate security to design flaws. It could be due to an issue on the part of the manufacturer, where case-by-case product liability law could be applicable. The company or person at responsible for the malfunction of a trailer can be held liable for the medical bills of the victims and auto repair expenses, and other losses related to the incident.

For instance in a fatal crash that occurred in January 2014 along an Ohio road locally known as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came out of the mount holly semi truck accident lawyer, and was thrown directly into two cars in front of it. Initial investigations attributed the crash to the truck driver's lapse in inspect and secure the hitch. However, in June 2015 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the possibility that a manufacturing defect caused the hitch involved in the crash -- an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel of Trussville, Alabama -- to fail on a significant number of occasions.

As a result of the faulty hitch, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles, before colliding into them head-on. The result was multiple fatalities and serious injuries to the drivers.

The truck driver who was involved in the incident was found guilty of vehicular homicide. However experts believe that he could have avoided the collision by conducting an exhaustive inspection of his trailer to make sure all connections were tight. Faulty trailer hitsches can cause major semi truck accident disasters, as these types of incidents typically involve a substantial amount of speed and could easily hit smaller cars or motorcycles. In these cases, the trailer may distort the car's frame and cause razor-sharp metal fragments to entrap passengers.