semi truck accident lawyers Truck Accident Law

A semi-truck collision can result in serious injuries that could cost a person a lot in medical expenses. It can also cause permanent disabilities that require expensive equipment and long-term therapy.

After a collision, it is crucial to have an experienced New York truck accident attorney at your side. A qualified attorney can help prove your case by using evidence like police reports or surveillance camera footage and much more.

Poorly maintained vehicles

Owner-operators and trucking companies typically don't take the necessary steps to ensure their vehicles are in good shape. This leads to an astronomical number of preventable accidents occurring every year.

Compared to passenger cars, semis and tractor-trailers require more frequent maintenance work due to their size and heavy loads. Unfortunately the pressure of meeting deadlines and maximising profits can overtake maintaining the fleet. Trucks are susceptible to mechanical problems that could cause devastating accidents.

The brakes of a truck need to be able to stop and slow down the vehicle at a moments notice. When brake pads lines, return springs or return lines on a truck are worn out they can cause serious accidents and fatal injuries. These parts must be regularly inspected and repaired in order to keep them in good working condition.

Tires that aren't properly maintained can also play a significant role in truck accidents. Worn tires can lose traction and cause the truck to slide or even tip over. Tires that are defective, whether it's due to incorrect tread design or air pressure, can fail catastrophically.

In addition to regular maintenance, trucks also require regular inspections in order to spot mechanical issues prior to causing an accident. If an inspection was performed improperly or the repair shop doesn't follow the manufacturer's guidelines it could cause a crash. In these instances, the firm that hired the maintenance or lawsuit repair shop or was the one who supervised it could be held responsible.

Another common cause of truck accidents is faulty signals, lights, and reflectors. These devices must function properly in order for drivers to be able to be aware of and anticipate the movements of the truck particularly when driving in rural areas or at night. Trucking companies or drivers could not maintain and inspect these items, or may not be able to conduct daily safety checks.

A reliable Houston truck accident lawyer can review your case and determine who is responsible for your losses should you be injured in an accident caused by a poorly maintained commercial truck. These investigations can reveal evidence of the defendant's negligence and assist you in obtaining the compensation you're entitled to.

Distracted Drivers

There aren't many things that can be more damaging than an accident which involves a commercial vehicle. These huge vehicles can weigh up to 25 times more than a car and cause much worse injuries in an accident. While many factors cause accidents that result from distracted driving, it is one of the most common and dangerous. A driver who is distracted could lose control of their vehicle or fail to notice a road danger and cause serious and life-changing injuries.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has strict rules and guidelines for truck drivers. This includes a ban on texting and using cell phones while driving. But even if truckers follow the rules, they are still prone to be distracted and cause an accident. This is often caused by manual distractions such as taking your hand off the steering wheel, or by cognitive distractions like thinking about something other than driving.

While most 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, and even conversing with passengers can be considered distracting. When a truck driver is distracted, they may wander off into another lane, or not be able to see the traffic jam ahead of them. It takes only a split second for a large truck to strike a passenger vehicle when the trucker's attention wanders.

It is essential to collect information on witnesses and take photos of the scene of the crash when the driver is distracted and causes an accident with a truck. It is essential to know the name of the driver, the company that they work for, and who is the owner of the vehicle if it's an independent contractor. This could affect who is accountable for your accident since the trucking company is responsible for hiring skilled and experienced truck drivers. If the trucking company is found be at least partially responsible for your accident, they may be liable for your economic and non-economic losses.

Rear-End Collisions

Rear-end collisions with trucks are common and can cause serious injuries. They can happen in a variety of settings like at an intersection or stop signal, where the trucker is unable to check behind them for any traffic that is coming up. They may also occur when a car cuts in front of the truck, which forces the driver to hit their brakes without warning. The trucker can then slam into the car from behind.

It can be hard to prove fault when there is rear-end collisions, as it isn't always certain which vehicle was responsible. However, a skilled lawyer can assist in gathering evidence that proves the driver behind caused the crash due to following too closely or distracted driving. This could include evidence such as photos, police reports eyewitness testimony and skid marks on the roadway.

Sometimes, the driver in the front might be the one responsible for Lawsuit the accident as well. This can happen when they cut off someone else, fail to use their turn signal as any reasonable person would, or hit on the brakes at the last moment which causes the driver in the back to crash into the car directly in the front of them. This is where modified comparative negligence laws be used, in which the jury assigns a percentage of blame to each party, and lawsuit damages are reduced accordingly.

Bruises and Lacerations

The rear-end of the vehicle experiences the most impact in a rear-end collision meaning that occupants can sustain serious injuries when they hit their head against the back window or dashboard. They could also break bones after being bounced around the interior of the car due to the force of the collision. The injuries to the spine are often severe. Spinal injuries can have serious and long-lasting impacts on the victims.

A person who has been involved in a serious accident could also be suffering from emotional and psychological trauma. They may experience difficulty getting enough sleep or concentrating, which can lead them to anxiety and depression. If they are unable to work due to the extent of their injury, this can cause anxiety and financial hardship. An attorney can look into potential sources of liability to assist the victim to receive fair compensation for their loss.

Troublesome trailer hitches

It doesn't matter if you're driving an automobile, a van, a truck, or a flatbed, all vehicles must to be securely attached to their trailers. If a trailer is suddenly unhitched, it could result in catastrophic accidents that cause serious injuries or even death. If you've been injured in a collision involving an unhitched trailer, call a qualified vehicle accident attorney specializing in hitch failure cases promptly to discuss your legal options.

The cause of a faulty trailer hitch could be due to a variety of factors that can be traced to improper security or design. It could also be due to a manufacturer's defect, in which case products liability laws could apply. The company or person at responsible for the malfunction of a trailer is liable for the cost of medical bills and auto repair expenses, and other losses arising from the incident.

For example, in a deadly crash that took place 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 through the air into two cars that were behind it. Initial investigations pointed out that the accident was due to the truck driver’s negligence for not inspecting and secure the hitch. But in June 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began investigating the possibility that a manufacturing defect caused the hitch that was involved in the crash -one of the Ultra LT manufactured by Fontaine Fifth Wheel of Trussville, Alabama -- to malfunction on a high number of occasions.

As a result of the defective hitch, the trailer struck the sides of the vehicles and then crashed into them head-on. The result was numerous fatalities and serious injuries to the drivers.

The driver of the truck that was involved in the crash was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter. However, experts say that he could have avoided the collision with other vehicles if he completed a thorough inspection of his trailer and made sure that all connections were tight. Incorrect trailer hitches can cause major accidents. These types of accidents are typically high-speed and are able to sidewipe motorcycles or smaller cars. In these instances the trailer can distort the car's frame and cause razor-sharp metal fragments to injure passengers.