Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury resulting from a crash with a semi-truck can leave the victim in medical bills. It can also lead to permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term therapy.
It is important to have a qualified New York truck accident lawyer to assist you after an accident. A qualified attorney can help you prove your case with evidence like police reports or surveillance camera footage and much more.
Vehicles that are not maintained properly
In a lot of cases trucking companies and owners-operators do not take proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good working condition. This can lead to an astronomical number of avoidable accidents every year.
Semis and tractor trailers require more frequent maintenance than cars used for passenger transport because of their larger dimensions and larger weight. Unfortunately, meeting deadlines and maximising profits may take precedence over the maintenance of a fleet. This is why trucks can be susceptible to mechanical breakdowns that can lead to devastating accidents.
The brakes of a truck need to be able to stop and slow down the vehicle at a minute's notice. When the brake pads on a truck lines, lines, or return springs wear out they could result in serious collisions and fatal injuries. It is crucial that these components are regularly checked and replaced as needed to keep them in good working condition.
Tires that are not maintained properly can be a major cause of truck accidents. Tires that are worn out may lose traction and cause the truck to skid or even tip over. If a tire is not properly designed in any way, for example, 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 spot mechanical issues prior to causing an incident. However, if an inspection is performed incorrectly or the repair shop doesn't adhere to the manufacturer's guidelines, it could cause an accident. In these cases, the company that hired or oversees the maintenance or repair shop could be held accountable.
The malfunctioning of signals, lights and reflectors are another common cause of truck accident. These components must be in good working to enable drivers to see the truck and anticipate its movements, especially in rural areas or at night. However, trucking companies could fail to maintain and inspect these elements or the driver could not perform regular safety inspections.
A Houston truck accident attorney can investigate your case and determine who could be responsible for your damages in the event that you are injured by a poorly maintained commercial truck. This investigation could uncover evidence that proves the defendant's negligence and help you get the compensation you're due.
Distracted Drivers
There aren't many things that can be more devastating than an accident with a commercial truck. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times the weight of your vehicle and can cause more serious injuries when they are involved in collisions. While a variety of factors can contribute to accidents, distracted driving is one of the most common and risky. A truck driver who is distracted may lose control of their vehicle or fail to spot a hazard in the road, which could lead to life-changing injuries.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict rules and guidelines for truck drivers. This includes a ban on texting or using cell phones while driving. Even if truckers obey the rules they could still get distracted and cause a crash. This can be caused by mechanical distractions like turning your back on the steering wheel or cognitive distractions such as thinking about something other than driving.
While most people understand that it is dangerous to text and drive, few realize that other activities such as eating or changing the station on the radio or conversing with a passenger could also be deemed to be distracting. When a trucker is distracted, he may drift into another area and not be aware of the traffic jam ahead. When a truck driver's attention is diverted, it takes only an instant for a large vehicle to crash into a passenger car.
It is crucial to gather details about witnesses and to take photographs of the scene of the accident when the driver is distracted and causes a truck crash. It is also important to determine the name of the driver who is driving the truck and the company they work for, aswell in determining who owns the truck if it's an independent contractor. This will affect who is accountable for your incident since the trucking company is responsible for hiring skilled and experienced truck drivers. If the trucking company is found be partly responsible for your accident, they may be held responsible for your economic and non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions between trucks are common and can result in serious injuries. These accidents can happen in a variety of circumstances such as the stop sign or a red light, when the trucker does not check ahead for traffic coming in. It could also happen when vehicles cross the truck's route, causing the driver of the truck to brake abruptly without warning. The trucker could then smash the car from behind.
It can be hard to prove the fault of a driver in rear-end collisions because it isn't always evident who was at fault. A skilled attorney can help gather evidence to show that the driver behind caused the accident by following too closely, or driving with a distraction. This could include evidence like photos, police reports, eyewitness testimony and skid marks on the road.
The driver in front of the car may also be accountable for the collision. This can happen when they cut someone off or fail to utilize a turn signal in the same manner as any reasonable person would do. This type of scenario 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 in proportion to the percentage of fault.
Lacerations and Bruises
In a rear-end crash the rear end of the vehicle is the one that suffers the most impact. This means that the passengers are at risk of serious injuries if hit their heads against the dashboard or the back window. They may also break bones as they are bounced around the interior of the car by the force of the collision. Spinal injuries can be serious. The spinal cord contains a lot of nerves that control the body, therefore any damage to the spinal column can cause serious and lasting problems for victims.
In addition to these kinds of injuries, the victim may also experience psychological and emotional trauma from being in a horrific crash. They may have difficulty being able to sleep or concentrate, which can cause anxiety and depression. If they're unable to work due to the extent of their injury, this can cause stress and financial burden. An attorney can investigate the potential sources of liability to assist a victim in receiving fair compensation for their loss.
Faulty trailer hitches
It doesn't matter if you're driving either a car, truck, a van or a flatbed, all cars need to be securely attached to their trailers. If a trailer becomes unhitched, it could lead to catastrophic accidents that result in severe injuries or even death. If you've been injured in a collision involving the trailer that is running away, you should contact an experienced lawyer for car accidents with a specialization in cases of hitch failure as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.
A malfunctioning trailer hitch may be caused by many different factors, ranging from inadequate security to design flaws. It could also be the result of an error by the manufacturer, in which case laws governing product liability could apply. gastonia semi truck accident lawsuit or person accountable for a defective trailer can be held accountable for the victim's medical costs, auto repair costs and other losses resulting from the incident.
In a fatal crash that occurred on a road in Ohio known as "Devil's Backbone" in January 2014, a trailer detached from the truck. It crashed into two cars that were directly behind it. Initial investigation linked the accident to the driver's lapse in inspect and secure the hitch. In June of 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began to investigate the possibility that a defect in the hitch, an Ultra LT manufactured Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama, was the cause of the crash.
As a result of the faulty hitch due to the hitch's failure, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles and then crashed into them head-on. This led to multiple deaths and serious injuries to drivers of the vehicles.
The driver of the truck involved in this accident was convicted of vehicular murder, however experts say he could have avoided the collision with other vehicles had he performed a thorough visual inspection of his trailer and made sure that all connections were in good order. Faulty trailer hitsches can cause serious accidents, since these accidents typically involve a large amount of speed and could easily cause a collision with smaller vehicles or motorcycles. In these cases the trailer could deform the frame of a car and create sharp metal fragments to impale any passengers.