15 Incredible Stats About Semi Truck Lawsuit
Semi Truck Accident Law A serious injury sustained in collision with a semi truck can bury someone with medical bills. It could also cause permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term therapy. Following a collision, it is important to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney to assist you. A qualified lawyer will assist you in proving your case with evidence such as police reports and surveillance footage. Poorly-Maintained Vehicles Trucking companies and owners-operators often do not take the proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good repair. This can lead to many preventable accidents occurring every year. Compared to passenger cars, semis and tractor-trailers require more frequent maintenance due to their size and heavy loads. However, meeting deadlines and maximising profits may take precedence over maintaining a fleet. Trucks are susceptible to mechanical problems that can lead to disastrous accidents. The brakes on a truck have to be able stop and slow down the vehicle at a single notice. When the brake pads on a truck, lines or return springs wear out they could result in serious collisions and fatal injuries. These components should be regularly inspected and repaired as necessary to maintain their good condition. Tires that aren't maintained can also contribute to truck accidents. Tires that are worn-out can lose traction and cause the truck to flip over or skid. If a tire is not properly designed in any way, like having the wrong air pressure or improper tread design, it may fail catastrophically. The inspections are routine for trucks in addition to regular maintenance to identify mechanical issues prior to causing an incident. If an inspection was performed in a way that is not correct or if the repair shop does not follow the manufacturer's recommendations it could cause a crash. In these cases, a company that hired the repair or maintenance company or supervised it could be held liable. Another reason for truck accidents is the failure of signals, lights and reflectors. These elements must function correctly to enable drivers to detect and anticipate the truck's movements particularly when driving in rural areas or at night. However, trucking companies might fail to check and maintain these items or the driver might not be able to complete daily safety inspections. A Houston truck accident lawyer will investigate your situation and determine who could be accountable for your damages in the event you were injured from a poorly maintained commercial truck. The investigation can uncover evidence of the defendant's negligence and assist you in obtaining the compensation you're entitled to. Distracted Drivers There aren't many things that can be as devastating as an accident which involves a commercial vehicle. These massive vehicles weigh up to 25 times more than your car and can cause more injuries when they are involved in a collision. While a variety of factors can cause accidents that result from distracted driving, it is one of the most prevalent and risky. A truck driver who is distracted may lose control of their vehicle or fail to notice an accident on the road, leading to life-threatening injuries. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict rules and rules for truck drivers. This includes a ban on texting or using cell phones while operating their vehicles. Even if truckers obey the rules, they can be distracted and result in an accident. This could be the result of manual distractions like taking their hands off the wheel or cognitive distractions such as thinking about something else 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 conversing with passengers could also be considered to be distracting. If a truck driver is distracted, they may get lost in a lane or fail to see the traffic jam ahead of them. When a trucker's attention is diverted, it only takes a split-second for a large vehicle to collide with a car. It is important to collect information about any witnesses and also take pictures of the scene of the accident when an unintentionally distracted driver causes the truck to crash. It is important to determine the name of the driver, the company that they work for and who owns the vehicle if it's an independent contractor. This can have an impact on who's responsible for the incident, since it is the responsibility of the trucking firm to find competent and skilled truck drivers. If the trucking company is found to be partly responsible for your accident, they may be held responsible for your economic and non-economic injuries. Rear-End Collisions Rear-end collisions with trucks are common and can cause serious injuries. These accidents can happen in many different circumstances, including at an intersection or at a red light, when the trucker doesn't check ahead for traffic coming in. It can also happen when vehicles cross the truck's path, forcing the driver of the truck to brake suddenly and without warning. The trucker may then crash into the car from behind. youngstown semi truck accident lawyer can be difficult to prove fault in an accident that occurs at the rear, as it is not always obvious which vehicle caused the crash. However, a skilled attorney can help gather evidence that proves the driver in the rear caused the crash by following too closely or driving distracted. This evidence could include photos, police reports and eyewitness testimony, aswell markings from skids on the road. Sometimes the driver in front could be at fault for the crash also. This could happen if they cut off someone else or fail to use a turn signal like any other reasonable person. In this type of scenario modified comparative negligence laws may be used. The jury will assign a percentage of blame to each party. Damages will be reduced accordingly. Lacerations and Bruises In a rear-end accident, the rear-end of the car is the area that experiences the most force. This means that people in the car are at risk of serious injuries if they hit their heads against the dashboard or the back window. They can also suffer broken bones due to being scattered around the interior of the car as a result of the force of the collision. The spine is a vulnerable area and injuries to it can be severe. The spinal cord houses a number of nerves that regulate the body, so any damage to the spinal cord could cause long-lasting and serious problems for victims. A person who is a victim of a fatal accident could also be suffering from emotional and psychological trauma. They may experience difficulties being able to sleep or concentrate, which can cause depression and anxiety. If they're unable to work due to the degree of their injury this could cause stress and financial hardship. An attorney can investigate the possible sources of liability and help a victim seek fair compensation for their expenses. Faulty trailer hitches All vehicles, regardless of whether they are a vehicle, a car, a truck, van flatbed, van, need to be securely connected to their trailers. Unexpectedly unhitching a trailer can result in catastrophic accidents that lead to serious injuries or death. If you've suffered injuries 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. The cause of a faulty trailer hitch is many things which can range from inadequate securing or defective design. It could also be due to an issue with the manufacturer and, in this case, laws governing product liability could apply. The person or company at the fault for a defective trailer is responsible for medical bills of victims and auto repair costs and other losses arising from the incident. In a fatal crash 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. Initial investigations linked the incident to the truck driver’s negligence for failing to inspect and secure hitch. But in June 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began to investigate the possibility that a manufacturing defect caused the hitch in the crash — an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama — to malfunction on a high percentage of occasions. Due to the faulty hitch due to the hitch's failure, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles, before colliding into them head-on. This led to numerous deaths and serious injuries to drivers of the vehicles. The truck driver involved in the incident was found guilty of vehicular homicide. However experts say he could have avoided the collision if he'd performed an in-depth inspection of his trailer to ensure all connections were tight. Faulty trailer hitsches can cause major catastrophes, since they typically involve a large amount of speed and may wipe smaller cars or motorcycles. In these situations the trailer may distort the frame of a vehicle and force razor sharp metal fragments to impale passengers inside.