5 Killer Quora Answers On Semi Truck Lawsuit
Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury resulting from an accident with semi truck accident lawsuit-trucks can cost a person with medical bills. It can also result in permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term therapy.
After a crash, it is important to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney by your side. A qualified lawyer will help you prove your case with evidence such as police reports or surveillance footage, for instance.
Poorly maintained vehicles
In many instances trucking firms and owner-operators fail to take the proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good condition. This leads to a large percentage of avoidable accidents each year.
Comparatively to passenger vehicles, semis and tractor-trailers require more frequent maintenance due to their size and heavy load. However, the pressure to meet deadlines and maximize profits often takes precedence over maintaining the fleet. In the end, trucks are susceptible to mechanical breakdowns that can result in catastrophic accidents.
The brakes of trucks are of particular importance as they must be able to stop the vehicle and slow it down at the smallest of moments. If the pads of a truck's brakes, lines or return springs wear out they can result in serious collisions and fatal injuries. These parts must be checked regularly and repaired as necessary to maintain their good working condition.
A poorly maintained tire can also be a major lawsuit cause of truck accidents. Tires that are worn down could lose traction, causing the truck to rollover or skid. If a tire is defective in some way, for example, having the incorrect air pressure or tread design, it may fail catastrophically.
In addition to regular maintenance, trucks also require regular inspections to spot mechanical issues before they can cause an accident. If an inspection is conducted incorrectly or if the repair shop does not adhere to the manufacturer's specifications it could cause an accident. In these cases, a company that commissioned the repair or maintenance shop or who was responsible for its supervision could be held responsible.
Another major cause of truck accidents is defective signals, lights and reflectors. These devices must function properly in order for drivers to be able to observe and anticipate the movements of the truck, especially when driving in rural areas or at night. Trucking companies or drivers could fail to maintain and inspect these elements, or they may not carry out regular safety checks.
A Houston truck accident lawyer will investigate your case and determine who might be responsible for your injuries in the event you were injured by a deteriorated maintenance of a commercial truck. The investigation can uncover evidence proving the defendant's negligence and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Distracted Drivers
The consequences of collisions with commercial trucks can be catastrophic. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times the weight of your vehicle and can cause more serious injuries when they are involved in an accident. While a variety of factors can cause accidents, distracted driving is one of the most frequent and risky. A distracted truck driver can lose control of the vehicle or miss an accident on the road and cause serious and life-changing injuries.
Truck drivers must adhere to strict rules and regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a prohibition on texting and using mobile phones while driving. But even if truckers obey the rules they are still prone to be distracted and cause crash. This could be due to manual distractions like turning your back on the steering wheel or cognitive distractions like thinking about something other than driving.
Many people are aware that texting while driving is dangerous, but they are not aware that other activities, like eating, changing radio stations, or conversing with passengers, could also be considered to be distracting. When a truck driver is distracted, they may drift into another lane or fail to notice a traffic jam up ahead of them. When a truck driver's attention is diverted, it's only just a few seconds for a huge vehicle to hit a motorist car.
If a truck crash is caused by an unintentionally distracted driver it is crucial to snap photos of the scene of the accident and gather the name and contact information of any witnesses. It is also important to know the name of the driver of the truck and the company they are employed by, as well as who owns the truck if they are an independent contractor. This can affect who is liable for your accident, as the trucking company is responsible for securing skilled and competent truck drivers. If the trucking firm is found to be partly responsible for the accident, it could be held accountable to you for both economic and non-economic damages.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions between trucks are not uncommon and can result in severe injuries. These accidents can occur in many different situations such as an intersection or at a red light when a trucker doesn't check the road ahead for oncoming traffic. It can also happen if a car cuts across the truck's path, causing the driver of the truck to stop suddenly without warning. The trucker could then smash the car from behind.
It can be difficult to prove fault in a rear-end crash, as it's not always clear what vehicle caused the accident. A skilled attorney can help find evidence to prove that the driver in the back caused the crash by following too closely or driving erratically. This evidence could include photos, police reports and eyewitness testimony, aswell being skid marks on the road.
The driver in the front of the car could be held accountable for the incident. This could occur if they cut off someone else or fail use a turn signal like any other reasonable person. This is where modified comparative negligence laws could come into play, where the jury assigns a percentage to each party and damages are reduced accordingly.
Lacerations and Bruises
In a rear-end accident, the rear of the car is the area that receives the most impact. This means that people in the car are at risk of serious injuries if hit their heads against the dashboard or the back window. They can also suffer broken bones due to being torn around inside the car by the force of the crash. Injuries to the spine are often severe. The spinal cord is home to many nerves that regulate the body. Therefore, any injury to the spinal column may cause serious and lasting issues for those affected.
A person who is a victim of a fatal accident might also suffer emotional and psychological trauma. They may experience difficulty sleeping or concentrating which can lead them to anxiety and depression. They may also experience stress and financial strain when they are unable to work due to an injury. An attorney can examine the possible causes of liability to help a victim receive fair compensation for their loss.
The trailer is not working properly
Whatever vehicle you're driving, the vehicle of a car, van, a truck, or a flatbed, all vehicles need to be securely connected to their trailers. Unintentionally unhitching a trailer could result in catastrophic accidents that lead to severe injuries, or even death. If you've suffered injuries in an accident involving an unhitched trailer, call an experienced attorney for vehicle accidents specializing in hitch failure cases as soon as possible to discuss your legal options.
A faulty trailer hitch can be the result of a variety of factors, ranging from inadequate security to design flaws. It can also be the result of a manufacturer's defect and in that case, lawful product liability may apply. The company or individual responsible for a trailer that is defective could be held responsible for the victims' medical expenses or auto repair expenses, as well as other losses resulting from the incident.
For example in a fatal crash that occurred in January 2014 on an Ohio road that is locally referred to as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came out of the truck and careened directly into two cars in front of it. The initial investigation blamed the crash to the truck driver's lapse in examine and secure the hitch. In June 2015, 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 fail on a significant number of occasions.
The trailer struck the side of the vehicle and crashed into them. The result was multiple deaths and serious injuries to the drivers of the vehicles.
The truck driver who was involved in the incident was found guilty of vehicular murder, however experts believe that he could have avoided the crash had he conducted an exhaustive inspection of his trailer to ensure all connections were tight. The failure of a trailer's hitches can result in major catastrophes, since these accidents typically require a significant amount of speed, and they can hit smaller cars or motorcycles. In these cases, the trailer may distort the car's frame and cause sharp metal fragments to entrap passengers.