Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury sustained during a crash with trucks can result in the death of an individual in medical expenses. It can also lead to permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term therapy.
bellevue semi truck accident case is vital to have a qualified New York truck accident lawyer to assist you after an accident. A qualified attorney will help you prove your case by using evidence like police reports and surveillance footage, among others.
Poorly maintained vehicles
In a lot of cases trucking companies as well as owner-operators don't take the proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good working condition. This causes an astronomical number of avoidable accidents every year.
Comparatively to passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers and semis require more frequent maintenance work due to their size and weight. load. Unfortunately the pressure of meeting deadlines and maximising profits is often more important than maintaining the fleet. Trucks can be prone to mechanical issues that could result in catastrophic accidents.
The brakes on trucks are crucial as they must be able to stop the vehicle and slow it down at the smallest of moments. If the brake pads of a truck lines, lines, or return springs wear out, they can cause serious collisions and fatal injuries. These components must be checked regularly and repaired when necessary to ensure they are in good working condition.
A poorly maintained tire can also be a major contributor to truck accidents. Tires that are worn out may lose traction and cause the truck to flip over or slide. If a tire is deficient in some way, like having the wrong air pressure or improper tread design, it may fail catastrophically.
Trucks need routine inspections along with regular maintenance to detect mechanical issues before they lead to an accident. If an inspection was performed improperly or the repair shop doesn't follow the manufacturer's recommendations, it can cause a crash. In these cases, a company that hired the repair or maintenance shop or managed it may be held accountable.
Another reason for truck accidents is the failure of signals, lights and reflectors. These elements must be properly functioning to allow drivers to see their truck and anticipate its movements, particularly in rural areas or after dark. However, trucking companies may neglect to inspect and maintain these elements or the driver may not perform regular safety checks.
A Houston truck accident lawyer will investigate your case and determine who may be accountable for your damages in the event that you were injured by a badly maintained commercial truck. These investigations can uncover evidence that proves the defendant's negligence in the accident and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Distracted Drivers
There aren't many things that can be more devastating than an incident that involves a commercial truck. These huge trucks can weigh up to 25 times more than your car and can cause more severe injuries in a crash. Distracted driving is one of many factors that cause accidents. A truck driver who is distracted could lose control of their vehicle, or fail to see an issue on the road, leading to severe and life-changing injuries.
Truck drivers are required to follow strict rules and regulations that have been formulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This includes a ban on texting or using cell phones while driving. However, even when truckers follow the rules, they are still prone to be distracted and cause a crash. This can be a result of manual distractions such as getting off the steering wheel or mental distractions such as thinking about something else other than driving.
While the majority of people are aware that it is risky to text while driving, a few realize that other activities like eating or changing the radio station or even talking to the other driver can also be deemed to be distracting. When a trucker is distracted, they might get lost in a lane or fail to notice an obstruction in front of them. It only takes a split second for a large truck to hit a passenger vehicle when the trucker's attention is diverted.
It is essential to collect information on witnesses and to take photographs of the accident scene when an unintentionally distracted driver causes a truck crash. It is important to know the name of the driver, the business that they work for and who owns the vehicle if it's an independent contractor. This could affect who is liable for your accident since the trucking company is responsible for hiring skilled and competent truck drivers. If the trucking company is found to be partially responsible for your accident, they could be liable to you for any economic and non-economic injuries.
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, including at the stop sign or red light when the trucker does not check the road ahead for oncoming traffic. It could also happen when vehicles cross the truck's path, forcing the driver of the truck to brake abruptly without warning. The trucker might then slam into the car from behind.
It is often difficult to prove the cause of rear-end collisions, since it's not always clear which vehicle caused the accident. An experienced attorney can gather evidence that proves the driver behind caused the crash because they followed too closely or driving while distracted. This can include evidence like photos, police reports, eyewitness testimony, and skid marks in the road.
The driver in front of the car may also be accountable for the incident. This could occur if they cut someone off or fail to utilize a turn signal in the same manner as any reasonable person. In this type of scenario, modified comparative negligence laws can be applied. The jury will assign a percentage of blame to each party. The damages are then reduced according to.
Lacerations and Bruises
The rear of the vehicle experiences the most impact in a rear-end collision, which means that occupants may suffer serious injuries when they hit their head against the dashboard or the back window. The force of the collision can also cause broken bones if the occupants are thrown about the vehicle's interior. The injuries to the spine can be extremely severe. Injuries to the spine can have serious and long-lasting effects on the victims.
In addition to these types of injuries, a victim may also be suffering from psychological and emotional trauma from having been involved in a terrible crash. They may have difficulty sleeping or concentrating. This can cause anxiety and depression. They may also experience stress and financial burdens when they cannot work because of an injury. An attorney will investigate the possible sources of liability and assist the victim to receive the right amount of compensation for their loss.
Faulty trailer hitches
All vehicles, whether they're a car or van, truck flatbed, van, need to be securely connected to their trailers. If a trailer becomes unhitched, it could cause a catastrophic accident that could result in severe injuries or death. If you've suffered injuries in an accident involving the trailer that has run away, contact an experienced attorney for vehicle accidents who specializes in cases involving hitch failure as soon as you can to discuss your legal options.
A defective trailer hitch could result from a variety things, from improper securement to a defective design. It could be due to an error on the part of the manufacturer, where case-by-case product liability laws may apply. The company or individual responsible for a trailer that is defective can be held accountable for the victim's medical expenses along with auto repair expenses and other losses that result from the incident.
For example there was a fatal crash that occurred in January 2014 on an Ohio road locally known as "Devil's Backbone," a trailer came free from the truck, and was thrown directly into two cars in front of it. Initial investigations attributed the crash to the truck driver's lapse in examine and secure the hitch. In June 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the possibility that a manufacturing defect had caused the hitch in the crash -- an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama -- to fail on a significant proportion of occasions.
The trailer hit the side of the vehicles and then crashed into them. The result was numerous fatalities and serious injuries for the drivers.
The driver of the truck that was involved in the crash was found guilty of vehicular murder, however experts believe he could have avoided the collision with the other vehicles had he completed a thorough inspection of his trailer and made sure that all connections were tight. The failure of trailer hitches can lead to major disasters. These types of accidents are typically high-speed, and they can easily cause a collision with motorcycles or other smaller vehicles. In these instances, the trailer may distort the frame of a car and result in sharp metal fragments to impale any passengers.