Truckers Can’t Always Push the Speed Limits

Truck accidents often involve multiple parties, and there are federal rules that apply to trucks that make things a lot more complicated than with typical passenger car accidents. All this means it can be hard to pin down fault, and a truck accident attorney with experience here in North Carolina may be needed if you want to be sure of getting the full compensation you're owed after a crash. more Why Trucking Accidents Are More Complex A semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, so when it goes flying, injuries and property damage are usually serious. In addition, something that large is often going to injure multiple people and involve multiple vehicles in its crash. There could be a dozen or more drivers, pedestrians, and property owners who all need to make a claim in a worst-case scenario. Fault isn't always clear-cut, either, because it's not just the driver and the truck. In addition to the driver, you need to look at the trucking company and potentially the truck or truck parts manufacturers, a third-party mechanic service, or even a cargo loader. And finally, you need to be familiar with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules about hours of service for drivers, maintenance, driver qualifications, and cargo securement in order to successfully bring a claim. If these rules weren't being followed, then the driver or the trucking company could bear some liability even if the driver didn't initially cause the accident. Say, for example, that a sedan makes an illegal U-turn in front of a truck, which causes the truck to brake and swerve to avoid it, and the truck crashes into you and two other vehicles. Is the sedan driver the only one at fault? Perhaps, but if your lawyer looks into it and finds that the truck's brakes weren't being maintained properly and the driver had violated hours of service rules, then you could potentially have a claim against the sedan driver, the truck driver, and the trucking company. Evidence Your Truck Accident Attorney Will Use to Establish Fault Your lawyer will need to move quickly to preserve evidence, as some of it tends to disappear fast. Key evidence will include the police reports and photos and video from the scene (if available). The photos have to be taken before the scene is cleaned up, and the video has to be secured before it gets overwritten. You'll also want witness statements, and witnesses tend to forget as time goes along. Maybe even more crucial will be the "black box" data and information from the truck's electronic logging devices (ELDs) that show speed, braking, acceleration, and hours driven. Video from inside the cab can show what the driver was doing, and driver logs and maintenance records may reveal FMCSA violations. But all this belongs to the trucking company, and they may "lose" or "accidentally erase" it, meaning your lawyer needs to get on the job fast. If you've been hurt in a truck accident, contact us at David & Associates right away so we can get started gathering and saving evidence to protect your rights. We serve the Supply, Wilmington, Clinton, Jacksonville, Wallace, and Whiteville areas.

Truck accidents tend to cause especially catastrophic injuries and property damage. If you've been in a truck accident, it's important that you prove negligence to get the full compensation you're owed and get your life back on track. Talk to a truck accident lawyer in North Carolina quickly so they can get started on a strong case for you and protect your case from getting lost in the shuffle. more From a North Carolina Truck Accident Lawyer: How Do You Prove Negligence in a Truck Accident Case? In any personal injury case, there are certain elements you have to prove to show that someone was negligent. First, you have to show there was a duty of care. With a truck, the duty of care is a requirement that the driver and the trucking company drive safely and follow all regulations to keep the vehicle in good shape. Then, you have to prove there was a breach of the duty and that this breach of the duty of care was specifically what caused the accident. Finally, you have to show what losses you actually had and link them to the accident. Each of these elements has to be proved separately, with evidence. This can be especially tricky when it comes to truck accidents. For one thing, truck accidents often involve multiple parties and victims, so working out exactly who is liable can be tough. There are also lots of state and federal regulations related to trucking that can come into play, and there can be multiple parties liable even when you consider just the truck itself. Gathering Evidence It's important to talk to a lawyer quickly so your lawyer can begin gathering evidence. Some of this evidence isn't going anywhere, such as the police reports and any photos or video footage that you took immediately after the accident. But other types of evidence need to be gathered quickly. Eyewitnesses must be interviewed as soon as possible because time tends to erode memories. And you want your lawyer to get his or her hands on the black box data from the truck, the driver logs, and all maintenance and hiring records before the trucking company can "lose them." Identifying All Responsible Parties In a truck accident, various entities can be responsible. It's the company's responsibility to keep the vehicle safe to drive, and if maintenance records show there was negligence here, that might make the company or a mechanic they hired liable. There are also rules about how long truck drivers can drive at one time, and if the driver violated these rules, the driver may be responsible, but the trucking company may also be responsible. Cargo loaders who don't put freight correctly into a truck, manufacturers who produce a truck with defective parts, or a trucking company that is negligent in its hiring practices may all be responsible. Trucking accidents are often catastrophic, and if you have been the victim of one, it's important to get started as soon as possible. Contact David and Associates Injury Attorneys in Wilmington, NC now. We also have offices in the Jacksonville, Supply, Clinton, Whiteville, and Wallace areas.

Collisions between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles often result in more severe consequences for those in the passenger vehicles. This difference is due to several factors, including the size and weight differences between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, as well as the complexities involved in operating and stopping larger vehicles. Why are crashes involving commercial trucks more severe? Commercial trucks, such as semi-trailers and dump trucks, significantly outweigh passenger vehicles. This weight disparity plays a crucial role in the physics of a crash: Size and weight: Commercial trucks can weigh tens of thousands of pounds when fully loaded, while an average passenger car weighs approximately 3,000 pounds. In a collision, the heavier mass of the commercial truck will typically cause greater destruction and more severe injuries to the occupants of the lighter vehicle. Stopping distance: Larger vehicles require a longer distance to come to a complete stop. If a truck driver fails to anticipate a stop in time, the impact with a passenger vehicle can be catastrophic. It is no surprise that when victims of these accidents add these two disparities together, the outcome can be catastrophic. Who is liable in commercial truck crashes? When a crash involves a commercial truck, determining liability can be more complex than in accidents involving only passenger vehicles. Multiple parties could be responsible: Truck driver: Errors such as distracted driving, fatigue, or violating traffic laws can directly lead to accidents. Trucking company: If the company failed to follow regulations or pressured drivers to meet unrealistic schedules, it could be held liable. Maintenance providers: Improper maintenance of the truck can cause mechanical failures leading to accidents. Manufacturers: If the crash was caused by a defective truck part, the manufacturer might be responsible. This complexity in liability necessitates thorough investigations and often involves various legal challenges. Collisions involving commercial trucks and passenger vehicles typically result in more severe outcomes for the occupants of passenger vehicles due to the significant differences in vehicle size and weight. Furthermore, the determination of liability in such crashes can involve multiple parties, making accountability for the cost of the crash more complicated.