Tractor Trailer Accident Attorney

Each year in the United States, there are more than 400,000 accidents involving large trucks commonly referred to as tractor trailers or “18-Wheelers”. In 2005 alone, close to 4,000.00 people were killed in accidents involving an 18-Wheeler or large tractor trailer. Accidents involving these large trucks usually involve significant property damage and injuries due to the large size and incredible weight of these trucks, particularly when they are loaded with merchandise, vehicles or equipment. Even a so-called “low impact” accident in which an 18-Wheeler strikes another vehicle traveling at low speeds, can result in debilitating injuries. If you have been injured in a trucking accident, information about potential fault of another party is readily available.

An excellent source of information when investigating a trucking accident is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is part of the United States Department of Transportation (DOT). The FMCSA is also known as the truck and bus “Safety Agency”. The FMCSA’s primary mission is to reduce crashes, injuries, and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles including 18-Wheelers and buses. FMCSA requires trucking companies and their drivers to ensure the safety of their trucks. Safety inspections need to be performed on a daily basis. The loading of the trucks is also critically important as the weight on the trailer must be properly distributed and secured to avoid an 18-Wheeler rolling over during an accident.

DOT and FMCSA have established guidelines to ensure that trucking companies that operate such large vehicles on the highways operate them safely. The Department of Transportation conducts random checks and audits with trucking companies to ensure that the trucking companies are complying with the many Department of Transportation regulations. If it is found that a trucking company has not complied with the Department of Transportation and FMCSA regulations, the company can be hit with very large fines. In fact, the FMCSA levies hundreds of thousands of dollars of fines each year for violations of the DOT regulations. Among other things, the regulations require:

1.A systematic inspection, repair and maintenance of all vehicles;

2.Do the drivers hold Commercial Driver’s Licenses and for bus drivers, Commercial Driver’s Licenses with a “passenger” endorsement;

3.Do the drivers hold valid medical certificates;

4.Does the company have a driver drug/alcohol testing program that complies with the Department of Transportation regulations;

5.Does the trucking company put limits on how long a driver may drive, basically not more than ten (10) hours following eight (8) consecutive hours of being off duty; and

6.Do the trucking company’s drivers exceed the “70 hour rule”, which limits drivers to seventy (70) hours of work/driving time within eight (8) consecutive days.

It is critical in evaluating a trucking accident to evaluate whether the trucking company, and its driver complied with all DOT regulations. It is also critical to investigate whether the trucking company itself has been the focus of a FMCSA investigation, whether it has ever previously been fined by the FMCSA, or whether it was fined as a result of your trucking accident. Information collected by the FMCSA can provide valuable insight as to the cause of an accident.

A trucking accident needs to be thoroughly investigated immediately after the accident happens. With time, witnesses disappear and memories fade, and valuable evidence can be lost. To properly investigate a trucking accident, a party should review the minimum safety standards that trucking and motor coach companies must follow for operation of their vehicles, and the physical qualifications and operating rules for their drivers. Another valuable source of information on trucking accidents is the “black box” which is often found in newer models of trucks. It can reveal information on the speed, weight and maintenance of the truck. However, it requires a party to move quickly before it is destroyed in order to obtain as much information about the trucking accident as possible. For more articles like this bookmark www.TractorTrailerAccidentAttorney.net

Author: Joseph Maus

A tractor trailer accident attorney represents clients from a variety of tractor trailer accidents, from minor incidents to fatality accidents.  If you, or a loved one, has been involved in an 18 wheeler accident, you should contact an attorney immediately so you receive the legal advice, counsel and potential representation that you may need.  Ask A Lawyer Online Now.  Get an Answer ASAP.  12 Lawyers Are Online!   Law.JustAnswer.com

With the growing number of tractor trailer accidents every year, it’s no surprise that truck crash lawsuits are rising in number. Tractor trailer crashes frequently cause severe damage and injury to all involved. Unfortunately, death is also common in such accidents.

When a large truck accident occurs, many liability issues arise. Thus, it is important to contact a skilled tractor trailer accident lawyer to evaluate the circumstances of your case to determine your legal rights.

Personal injury attorneys often file truck accident lawsuits against trucking companies and truck drivers for injuries suffered in a tractor trailer collision. It is usually alleged the truck accident was caused by truck driver negligence. Generally in such cases, the truck company will assume liability for the driver’s actions because of a legal doctrine known as respondeat superior. Respondeat Superior is a doctrine that means employers are liable for employee negligence when, at the time of the accident, the employee was engaged in an activity within the scope of his employment.

However, there are guidelines as to what constitutes an “employee.” In some cases, trucking companies will deny liability for a tractor trailer accident by stating the truck driver was not an actual “employee.”

In a recent Missouri tractor trailer accident lawsuit, a personal injury victim injured in a truck crash filed a lawsuit suit against the trucking company and truck driver. The trucking company denied liability for the accident because the driver of the truck was a leased driver. The trucking company used what is known as the “borrowed servant defense” in arguing they surrendered all control to the lease driver, making him exclusively liable for negligence instead of the company.

There are usually three elements to a “borrowed servant defense.” They are:

(1) Consent on the part of the employee to work for the special employer;

(2) Actual entry by the employee upon the work of and for the special master pursuant to an express or implied contract so to do; and

(3) Power of the special employer to control the details of the work to be performed and to determine how the work shall be done and whether it shall stop or continue.

The court in this Missouri truck accident case initially agreed with the trucking company, stating they were not liable. On appeal the Court held the employer control was determined to exist over the driver and decided the case should be heard again to determine truck company liability.

This case exemplifies the intricacies of a tractor trailer crash and ensuing lawsuits. In the event that you or a loved one are affected by a tractor trailer accident, it is to your benefit to contact a reputable and skilled tractor trailer crash lawyer to assist you. He/She will simply be acquainted with the legal processes involved in a truck crash lawsuit and will be able to resolve your case as quickly and easily as possible for you. Need a Personal Injury Lawyer?  Click on the link for more information!

Author: John J Page

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_J_Page

Tractor Trailer Accident Attorneys are on your side if you, or a loved one, has been injured in an accident with a tractor trailer.   Such accidents can be devastating, due to how severe the accident and injuries can be with a large semi vs. a motor vehicle.  That motor vehicle being a fraction of the size of the semi can be totalled, and the driver and passengers can sustain serious injuires, even fatal injuries.  Contact a tractor trailer accident attorney immediately for the necessary legal representation. 

The odds are against you when you’re involved in a collision with a semi tractor trailer. First, if you’re occupying a car, riding a bike or walking, you’re likely to be seriously injured or killed. Second, if the collision was caused by a truck driver or truck owner’s negligence, you face an uphill battle to ensure that the negligent driver and his employer compensate you fairly for your damages including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Why? The truck driver and his company have an overwhelming advantage. They have decades of experience defending claims just like yours. They have risk management departments dedicated to denying claims and minimizing payouts.They have attorneys ready to respond at a moment’s notice to the company’s request for legal help in challenging your claim. To even the odds, you may need a lawyer.

Time is not on your side. While you’re still in your vehicle awaiting the arrival of medical help and the police, the trucking company is already beginning its own accident investigation. Unless he’s severely injured, one of the first things a driver will do after colliding with another vehicle is call the home office and report the accident. He’ll be instructed not to make any incriminating statements to investigating police officers.

Meanwhile, the home office will contact its field investigators and accident reconstruction experts and direct them to the accident scene immediately. They may arrive at the scene while the state troopers dispatched to the location are still at work there. Occasionally they will arrive at the scene before the police. These representatives will photograph the accident scene, photograph the damaged vehicles, and take measurements of skid, scuff, and yaw marks and debris on the roadway while all the evidence is fresh. In the meantime, you may be fighting for your life in a local hospital.

It’s unrealistic to think the average motorist injured in an accident with a truck can get an investigator or other expert to the accident scene as quickly as a trucking company’s representatives. Nevertheless, the quicker you or a family member can engage an attorney to investigate your accident, the more likely you can gather the facts and evidence to prove the collision was the truck driver’s fault, not yours.

Why? Skid and scuff marks fade with time.They can disappear altogether after a heavy rain or snowstorm. The tractor trailer may be repaired before you can get a photograph of the damage it sustained in the accident. Your own car may be towed away and sold by your own insurance company before you think to have an investigator examine it, photograph it, and put it in storage if it appears the physical evidence of damage to your car is critical to proving your case.  An attorney who specializes in handling tractor trailer accident cases can conduct a complete investigation of your accident and engage expert witnesses to visit the scene, review the evidence, and determine what is necessary to win your case.

Delay and procrastination on your part are the trucking company’s friend. A delay in prosecuting your case can damage or destroy your claim in many ways. Every state has its own different statutes of limitation requiring that you file a personal injury lawsuit within a prescribed period of time. You may not be familiar with these laws.Unfortunately, if you fail to meet the specified deadline, you will be forever barred from making any monetary recovery. Of course, statutes of limitation do not apply solely to persons injured in trucking accidents. Every motor vehicle accident victim must comply with the applicable statute of limitations.In Virginia, the statute of limitations for a personal injury case is generally two years from the date of the accident. However, persons injured in a tractor trailer accident confront a multitude of additional "deadlines" which may affect the successful prosecution of their cases.

What deadlines? There are many of them.Let me review just a few. Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, interstate motor carriers must "systematically inspect, repair, and maintain…all motor vehicles subject to [their] control". They must maintain a "record of inspection, repairs and maintenance indicating their date and nature."FMCSR 396.3. Regrettably, these records must be maintained for only 1 year, or less if the truck leaves the motor carrier’s control. Thereafter, they may be destroyed.If you were injured in an accident caused by the improper inspection, maintenance or repair of a tractor trailer, the trucking company’s own records may provide the most important clues and evidence you need to support your claim. You want to obtain these records before they are discarded.An attorney experienced in handling tractor trailer cases will be familiar with this regulation and know how to secure the maintenance records before they are destroyed.

Every motor carrier driver must prepare a daily, written report on the truck he operated that day. The report must identify any defect or deficiency the driver has discovered or learned about which would affect the safety of the vehicle’s operation or result in its mechanical breakdown. The carrier must maintain the original inspection report and certification of repairs for only 3 months from the date the written report was prepared.FMSCR 396.11. If you were injured in an accident caused by a trucking company’s failure to correct a defect in one of its tractor trailers, you want to obtain the daily driver reports in order to determine if the trucking company was aware of the defect but made the decision not to repair it, regardless of the risk to the general public. An attorney with a tractor trailer accident practice will know to request these daily reports during the discovery phase of your case.

Motor carriers are required to maintain a driver qualification file for every driver. The file must include, among other things, a driver’s application of employment, information regarding a driver’s driving record, the medical examiner’s certificate of the driver’s physical qualification to drive a commercial motor vehicle, and a list relating to violations of motor vehicle laws. Some of these items may be removed from the file after 3 years from date of execution.  When your lawyer obtains and reviews these documents, he may find evidence the truck driver involved in your accident had numerous prior traffic violation convictions for reckless driving or driving while intoxicated.

There are additional benefits to hiring an accomplished tractor trailer accident lawyer to represent you. He/she will be acquainted, not just with the regulations referred to above, but the myriad of other federal regulations which govern the loading, maintenance, and operation of tractor trailers. He/she can review the facts of your case to determine if a trucker’s failure to comply with safety regulations regarding brakes, lighting devices, towing methods, and emergency equipment, to name just a few, contributed to cause your accident. Were the tractor trailer’s tail lamps or headlights so obscured by dirt or by a tailboard that other drivers on the road couldn’t see them? A lawyer with years of tractor trailer litigation experience will know which questions to ask the driver and his employer during discovery depositions to elicit proof of this kind of negligence.

When the tractor trailer operator lost control of his 80,000 pound rig and barreled into your vehicle was it because his cargo shifted? Did the trucker and/or his company ensure the tractor trailer’s cargo was properly distributed and adequately secured as specified under the regulations? Through comprehensive discovery, a well trained trucking accident lawyer may develop sufficient facts in your case to answer this question in a way that will help your case.

You may have been told the truck driver wasn’t at fault in your accident because he suddenly lost consciousness or suffered unexpected heart failure. A skilled tractor trailer accident attorney will obtain the truck driver’s medical records and learn whether the driver was an insulin dependent diabetic or whether he had a current clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction or angina pectoris. One of these medical conditions may explain the abrupt loss of consciousness. Under the federal regulations, persons with these conditions are not qualified to operate interstate tractor trailers. Operating a tractor trailer under such circumstances violates federal regulations and may constitute actionable negligence if the medical condition contributed to cause your accident. A skilled tractor trailer lawyer will know how to develop a powerful closing argument to a jury on these facts.

Handling a personal injury case arising out of a tractor trailer accident is usually more difficult and complicated than dealing with other types of motor vehicle accident cases. Don’t let a trucking company and its insurance carrier get the upper hand. Their best interests are not aligned with yours.The less money they pay out in personal injury and wrongful death claims, the more profit they have at year’s end to distribute to their owners or shareholders. Don’t be lulled into a sense of false security when the insurance company offers to pay your initial medical bills or lost wages if only you won’t hire a lawyer to represent you. Don’t be fooled by their reassurance of help and talk of compassion for your desperate circumstances. The day will come when the money spigot stops, but by then, the critical evidence that existed to prove your personal injury case may have disappeared. Level the playing field.As soon as you or a family member is seriously injured or killed in an accident involving a tractor trailer, contact an tractor trailer accident attorney who specializes in truck accident litigation to investigate your case and give you the advice you need to safeguard you and your family’s best interests.

Author: Elizabeth Allen

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Elizabeth_Allen