Semi Truck Accident Law
A serious injury resulting from an accident with a semi-truck can leave someone with medical expenses. It can also cause permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and ongoing physical therapy.
It is vital to have a reputable New York truck accident lawyer at your side following a crash. A qualified attorney will help you prove your case by using evidence such as police reports or surveillance footage, for instance.
Poorly maintained rochester hills semi truck accident lawyer
In many cases, trucking companies and owner-operators fail to take the proper steps to ensure their vehicles are in good working condition. This negligence results in an astronomical number of preventable accidents every year.
Semis and tractor trailers require more frequent maintenance than cars used for passenger transport because of their larger dimensions and larger load. However, meeting deadlines and maximising profits is often prioritized over the maintenance of a fleet. Trucks are susceptible to mechanical problems that can lead to disastrous accidents.
The brakes on a truck have to be able to stop and slow down the vehicle at a single notice. If the brake pads of a truck, lines or return springs fail, they can cause serious collisions and fatal injuries. These parts must be regularly inspected and repaired in order to keep them in good working condition.
A poorly maintained tire can also be a major cause of truck accidents. Tires that are worn out may lose traction and cause the truck to slide or even roll over. If a tire is defective in any way, such as having the incorrect air pressure or tread design, it could fail catastrophically.
The inspections are routine for trucks along with regular maintenance in order to spot mechanical issues before they lead to an incident. If an inspection is conducted incorrectly or the repair shop doesn't follow the manufacturer's guidelines it could lead to an accident. In such cases, a company that hired the repair or maintenance shop or supervised it could be held accountable.
Another major cause of truck accidents is faulty lights, signals, and reflectors. These components must be in good functioning to allow drivers to see their truck and anticipate its movements, particularly in rural areas or after dark. Drivers and trucking companies could fail to maintain and check these items, or might not conduct regular safety checks.
A reputable Houston truck accident lawyer can analyze your case to determine which parties may be responsible for your losses after you've been injured during an accident involving a badly maintained commercial truck. These investigations can reveal evidence that demonstrates the negligence of the defendant in your crash and help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Distracted Drivers
The consequences of collisions with commercial trucks can be devastating. These huge vehicles weigh up to 25 times the weight of your vehicle and can cause much greater injuries when they are involved in collisions. While many factors cause accidents but distracted driving is among of the most frequent and risky. A truck driver who is distracted might lose control of their vehicle or fail to spot the dangers on the road, which can lead to serious and life-threatening 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. But even if truckers follow the rules, they are still prone to be distracted and cause a crash. This could be because of distractions caused by manual actions like taking their hands off the steering wheel or mental distractions such as thinking about something other than driving.
While the majority of people are aware that it is risky to text while driving, a few are aware that other activities such as eating, changing the radio station or even talking to passengers can be considered to be distracting. When a trucker is distracted, the driver could drift off into another lane and fail to notice the traffic jam in front of him. When a truck driver's attention is diverted, it's only one second for a massive vehicle to collide with a car.
When a truck collision is caused by a distracted driver It is essential to take photographs of the scene of the crash and gather the contact details and name of any witnesses. It is also beneficial to know the name of the truck driver as well as the company they are employed by, as well and who owns the truck if they are an independent contractor. This can affect who is accountable for your accident, as the trucking company is responsible for hiring skilled and competent truck drivers. If the trucking company is found be partially responsible for your accident, they could be held accountable for your financial and non-economic losses.
Rear-End Collisions
Rear-end collisions with trucks are common and often cause severe injuries. They can happen in a variety of situations for example, at the stop or red light sign, when the trucker fails to look behind them for traffic coming in. They may also occur when a car cuts in front of the truck, which forces the driver to slam on their brakes without warning. The trucker can then slam into the car from behind.
It is often difficult to prove the cause of an accident that occurs at the rear, as it's not always clear what vehicle caused the accident. An experienced attorney can gather evidence to prove that the driver behind caused the crash by following too closely, or driving with a distraction. This can include evidence like photographs, police reports, eyewitness testimony and skid marks on the roadway.
Sometimes the driver in front might be the one responsible for the accident also. This could happen if they cut someone off or fail to utilize their turn signal as any reasonable person would, or hit on the brakes in the last second, causing the driver behind to slam into the car directly in the front of them. In this type of scenario modified comparative negligence laws may be used. The jury will determine a percentage of the blame to each of the parties. The damages are then reduced accordingly.
Bruises and Lacerations
The rear-end of the car has the greatest impact in a rear-end collision, which means that occupants may suffer serious injuries after hitting their head against the dashboard or the back window. The force of the collision can also cause broken bones if the occupants of the vehicle are thrown around the vehicle's interior. The spine is a vulnerable area and injuries to it are often severe. The spinal cord contains many nerves that regulate the body, therefore any injury to the spinal column could cause permanent and significant issues for those affected.
A person who has been involved in a serious accident could also be suffering from emotional and psychological trauma. They may have trouble sleeping or concentrating which can result in depression and anxiety. If they're unable to work due to the degree of their injury it can create pressure and financial hardship. An attorney can research the possible sources of liability and assist the victim in seeking fair compensation for their expenses.
Problematic trailer hitches
Regardless of whether you're driving the vehicle of a car, van, a truck, or a flatbed, all vehicles need to be securely attached to their trailers. Unexpectedly unhitching a trailer can cause catastrophic accidents, leading to severe injuries, or even death. If you've been injured in a collision involving the trailer that has run away, contact an experienced lawyer for car accidents specializing in hitch failure cases as soon as you can to discuss your legal options.
The reason for a malfunctioning trailer hitch can be a variety of things such as inadequate securement or design. It can also be the result a defect in the manufacturing process or a manufacturing defect, in which case the products liability laws could apply. The company or the person responsible for a defective trailer could be held responsible for the victim's medical expenses or auto repair expenses, as well as other losses that result from the incident.
In a fatal crash on a highway in Ohio known as "Devil's Backbone" in January 2014 an unattached trailer was spotted on the truck. It crashed into two cars directly behind it. The initial investigation blamed the accident to the truck driver's lapse in inspect and secure the hitch. However, in June 2015 the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began to investigate the possibility that a manufacturing defect had caused the hitch involved in the crash -an Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel in Trussville, Alabama -- to malfunction on a large proportion of occasions.
The trailer slammed into the side of the vehicles and crashed into them. The result was multiple deaths and serious injuries to drivers of the vehicles.
The driver of the truck involved in the accident was found guilty of vehicular homicide, but experts suggest that he could've avoided the collision had he conducted an in-depth inspection of his trailer to ensure all connections were in good order. Faulty trailer hitsches can cause serious accidents, since they typically require a significant amount of speed and may sidewipe smaller cars or motorcycles. In these situations the trailer may distort the car's frame, and cause sharp metal pieces to impale passengers inside.