Semi Truck Accident Law
A semi-truck accident can cause serious injuries that could cost the victim a significant amount in medical bills. It can also lead to permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and ongoing physical therapy.
After a crash, it is essential to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney to assist you. A qualified lawyer will help you prove your case using evidence such as police reports and surveillance footage.
Poorly-Maintained Vehicles
Owner-operators and trucking companies often fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition. This can lead to many preventable accidents each year.
Semis and tractor trailers require more frequent maintenance than passenger cars because of their larger size and heavier weight. However working to meet deadlines and maximizing profits may take precedence over maintaining the fleet. Trucks are susceptible to mechanical problems which could result in devastating accidents.
The brakes on trucks are of particular importance because they must be able to stop the vehicle and slow it down at an instant's notice. When brake pads, lines or return springs on a truck fail they can cause serious accidents and fatal injuries. These components should be regularly checked and repaired as needed to ensure their good condition.
Tires that aren't maintained can also contribute to truck accidents. Tires that are worn-out could lose traction, causing the truck to overturn or skid. Tires that aren't working because of incorrect air pressure or tread design, can fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks must undergo routine inspections to detect mechanical problems before they lead to an accident. However, if an inspection is performed incorrectly or the repair shop does not adhere to the guidelines of the manufacturer this could result in an accident. In these situations, a company that hired the repair or maintenance company or who was responsible for its supervision could be held accountable.
Faulty lights, signals and reflectors are a common cause of truck accident. These items must be properly working to enable drivers to see their truck and anticipate its movements, especially in rural areas or after dark. However, trucking companies could neglect to inspect and maintain these equipments or the driver could not perform regular safety checks.
A Houston truck accident attorney 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. These investigations can uncover evidence proving 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 can weigh up to 25 times more than your car and can cause more severe injuries in an accident. 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 might lose control of their vehicle or fail to spot the dangers on the road, which could lead to serious and life-threatening injuries.
Truck drivers must adhere to strict rules and regulations that have been formulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a prohibition on texting or using cell phones while operating their vehicles. But even if truckers obey the rules they may still be distracted and cause crashes. This can be a result of manual distractions like getting off the 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, can also be considered distracting. When a truck driver is distracted, they could wander off into a different lane or miss a traffic jam in front of them. It only takes a fraction of a second for a big truck to crash into a vehicle if the trucker's mind wanders.
If a car accident is caused by a distracted driver it is crucial to snap photos of the scene of the accident and gather the contact details and name of witnesses. It is also important to determine the name of the truck driver and the company they are employed by, as well in determining who owns the truck if it's an independent contractor. This can affect who is liable for your incident since the trucking company is responsible for securing competent and skilled truck drivers. If the trucking company is found to be partly responsible for the accident, they could be held responsible for your economic as well as non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end truck collisions are quite common and can result in serious injuries. These accidents can happen in a variety of situations such as an intersection or at a red light when the trucker does not check behind him for any traffic that is coming up. They can also occur when a car comes in front of the truck, forcing the driver to slam on their brakes without warning. The trucker could then hit the car from behind.
It can be difficult to prove the cause of rear-end collisions, since it is not always obvious which vehicle was responsible for the crash. However, a skilled attorney can help gather evidence to show that the driver behind caused the crash by following too closely or driving while distracted. This could include evidence such as photographs, police reports, eyewitness testimony and skid marks on the roadway.
The driver in the front of the car could also be held responsible for the accident. This could occur if they cut off someone else or fail use a turn signal like any other reasonable person would do. This is where modified comparative negligence laws can be in play, where the jury assigns a percentage of blame to each party, and damages are reduced in proportion to the percentage of fault.
Bruises and Lacerations
In a rear-end accident, the rear of the car is the part that takes the most force. This means that passengers are at risk of serious injuries if they crash their heads against the dashboard or the back window. They may also break bones as they are scattered around the interior of the vehicle by the force of the crash. Spinal injuries are often severe. The spinal cord contains many nerves that control the body, and any damage to the spinal cord could cause permanent and significant issues for the victims.
A person who is a victim of a fatal accident may also experience emotional and psychological trauma. They may have trouble sleeping or concentrating, which could result in anxiety and depression. They may also experience financial hardship and stress in the event that they are unable to work due to their injury. An attorney can examine the possible sources of liability and ensure that the victim receives the right amount of compensation for their loss.
Faulty Trailer Hitches
Regardless of whether you're driving a car, a van, a truck, or a flatbed, all vehicles need to be securely attached to their trailers. Unintentionally unhitching a trailer could cause catastrophic accidents, leading to severe injuries or even death. If you've suffered injuries in an accident that involved the trailer that is running away, you should contact a qualified vehicle accident attorney specializing in hitch failure cases as soon as you can to discuss your legal options.
A malfunctioning trailer hitch may be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from inadequate securing to defective design. It could also be due to a manufacturer's defect and, in this case, lawful product liability may apply. The company or person responsible for a trailer's defect could be held responsible for the victim's medical costs, auto repair costs and other losses that result from the incident.
For instance, in a deadly crash that was reported in January 2014 on an Ohio road locally known as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came free from the truck and careened directly into two cars in front of it. Initial investigations suggested that the crash was due to the driver's negligence for not inspecting and secure the hitch. In troy semi truck accident case , the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began to investigate the possibility that a manufacturing defect caused the hitch that was involved in the crash -an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel of Trussville, Alabama -- to malfunction on a large number of occasions.
Due to the hitch that was defective, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles, before colliding into them head-on. The result was multiple deaths and serious injuries to the drivers of the vehicles.
The driver of the truck involved in the accident was convicted of vehicular homicide, but experts believe that he could have avoided the crash if he'd performed an in-depth inspection of his trailer to make sure all connections were in good order. A faulty hitch on a trailer can lead to major disasters, as these incidents often involve a substantial amount of speed, and they can cause a collision with smaller vehicles or motorcycles. In these cases the trailer could distort the car's frame and cause razor-sharp metal fragments to impale any passengers.