Articles Posted in Trucking Accidents

Companies owning fleets of trucks – whether for rentals, deliveries, or for some other purpose – have a responsibility to ensure that those trucks are driven safely. Unfortunately, thousands of accidents involving trucks occur on American roads and some of these accidents lead to fatalities or serious personal injuries. In some of these cases, it is found that trucking companies are not doing all they can to ensure that their vehicles are safe. Trucking companies can do a number of things to ensure that their trucks are safe:

1) Maintenance. Regular maintenance is vital for trucks. In addition to changing oil, checking for problems, and fixing any issues a truck has, regular maintenance by a qualified mechanic ensures that possibly dangerous mechanical problems are fixed. Responsible trucking companies ensure that maintenance is regular and that any repairs suggested by a mechanic are completed before a truck is placed on the road again.

2) Safe trucks. Trucking companies are responsible for ensuring that their trucks are safe to drive. This means that if a truck manufacturer recalls a model or issues a recall on any part of a truck, the trucking company must comply and ensure that the mechanical issue is resolved before the car operates on the road.

Each year, drivers sustain serious head injuries, broken bones, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries while driving rental trucks. Investigative reports and investigations into rental truck companies have found that some rental companies are not as careful as they should be concerning safety. If you need to rent a truck, here are some steps you should take if you are not sure of a truck’s safety:

1) Test before you drive. Before you drive off the rental car lot, do a walk-around inspection with the rental agent and then ask the rental agent to drive around the lot with you. This gives you a chance to notice any problems with the truck and allows you to ask any questions you need to ask before you drive the vehicle. If you notice any problems with the truck, seek another truck or rental company. Once you drive off the lot, visit a mechanic you trust to look at the truck, just to ensure it is road-worthy.

2) Ask for verification of the truck’s safety. Ask the rental agency for proof of the truck’s last maintenance and inspection. The rental agency should be able to tell you exactly when the last maintenance was done on the truck and what that maintenance involved.

Trucking accidents cause many tragic fatalities each year as well as serious personal injuries, including broken bones, head injuries, scarring, spinal cord injuries, and other serious trauma. While these are undoubtedly the worst outcomes of trucking accidents, in many cases the sheer size and power of a truck also causes property damage. While not as devastating as loss of life or personal injury, property damage can be very expensive. Some of the more common types of property damage caused by truck accidents include:

1) Residence damage. Trucks will sometimes leave the road when a driver loses control and careen into a residence. Such a collision can cause serious structural damage and can seriously injure anyone in the residence at the time.

2) Business damage. If a truck leaves a road, it can careen into business signs or storefronts. Since most businesses are closer to the road than residences, the damage can be extensive. Businesses may lose stock and may need to lose business while they are closed for repairs. In addition, any employees or customers who are inside and injured at the time of the accident can pursue legal action.

If you have been in a trucking accident and have lost a loved one or have sustained a serious personal injury – such as a spinal cord injury, brain injury, or other injury – you will need an attorney. Even if an insurance provider promises you that you do not need an attorney, there are several reasons why you should call a qualified Florida attorney right away:

1) The insurance provider has an attorney. Trucking companies are insured by insurance providers in the event of an accident, and insurance companies have teams of very talented attorneys at their disposal. These attorneys may wish you to sign documents and may even offer to help you understand the legal text, but it is important to understand that these attorneys work for the insurance providers, not for you. They are paid to keep expenses low for the company. You need an attorney representing you to protect your best interests and your rights.

2) Trucking accidents involve complex legal issues. You need an attorney working on your behalf to help you understand the legal issues, procedures, and papers that are inevitable after a trucking accident. A good attorney will explain your options and the legal system to you so that you can make the right decisions for you.

If a trucking accident has occurred, the immediate concern is usually helping victims at the scene. Unfortunately, since trucks are so large, many collisions involving trucks result in fatalities or serious brain injuries, burn injuries, and other serious injuries. Many trucking accidents also involve significant property damage.

Soon after a trucking accident, however, questions begin to arise about the causes of a trucking accident. Unfortunately for victims, resolving issues of liability can be challenging for a few reasons:

1) Memories fade. Victims and witnesses may start to forget the details of an accident after a time, making it more difficult to recreate exactly what happened. This can increase the possibility that witnesses and victims will have differing or even conflicting accounts of an accident. For this reason, securing witness testimony and evidence quickly is crucial.

Trucking accidents and their resultant personal injuries can be caused by common factors such as driver fatigue, speeding, and driving under the influence. However, many common causes of trucking accidents are in fact not frequently discussed. Some of the issues that have contributed to trucking accidents include:

1) Driver distraction. Driver distraction is one of the most common causes of trucking accidents and the resulting broken bones, fatalities, burn injuries and other serious injuries. However, the cause of driver distraction vary widely. Some drivers are distracted by the food they are eating on the road, by pedestrians and other drivers, by music in the car, by cell phone conversations, or even by road signs.

2) Road conditions. Badly paved roads, lack of proper lighting on roads, too-narrow roads and road construction can cause conditions that are unsafe for trucks. Municipalities are responsible for maintaining certain minimum road conditions and for posting adequate signs and warnings of dangerous road conditions.

Fork lifts are a major part of many road construction projects, building projects, and work environments. While many fork lift operators are trained and operate their machinery safely, however, fork lift accidents do cause serious personal injuries each year. Fork lifts can roll over, collide with other vehicles, or cause pedestrian accidents. These machines can cause burn injuries, broken bones, head injuries, spinal cord injuries, and even fatalities.

September sees a disproportionate number of fork lift accidents. September sees more fork lift accidents than any other time of year. During the year, more than one person per day dies or needs hospital attention as a result of a fork lift accident. In September, this accident rate nearly doubles. As a result, the Fork Lift Truck Association is organizing a Fork Lift Safety Week for the week of September 21st through the 27th.

SG World will be working with the Fork Lift Truck Association to offer free trials of their Safe-truck system and awareness campaigns will be organized by the Fork Lift Truck Association during the week. In addition, the Fork Lift Truck Association plans to organize other activities to make pedestrians and employees safer near fork lifts.

The US Fire Administration reports that many fatalities in car accidents and trucking accidents are caused by post-crash fires. In many cases, these fires occur as a result of fuel leaks, manufacturer defects, and the intensity of a collision. Unfortunately, burn injuries from trucking accidents are more likely to be fatal or serious, simply due to the large amount of fuel a truck can spill and due to the large force a truck collision usually creates.

Many trucks also carry flammable materials or toxic chemicals in their cargo holds. If these cargo holds are not secured correctly, flammable materials can leak out and fuel a fire after a collision. If a truck is carrying particularly noxious chemicals, these chemicals can cause burn injuries even if they do not ignite. In rare cases, trucks carry such dangerous substances that large areas must be evacuated after a truck accident because the chemicals pose a health hazard.

If trucks are carrying dangerous chemicals and traveling at high speeds, any collision can cause the truck to explode, simply due to the high force. Similarly, if a truck collides at high speeds with a wall or other barrier or rolls over, the flammable ingredients in the truck can explode or catch fire.

Sleep deprivation is a major cause of commercial trucking accidents. Being sleepy behind a wheel is always dangerous. It slows response times and can cause a driver to fall asleep on the job. For truck drivers, the situation is even more dangerous. Due to their size, trucks can cause a lot more damage in a collision. Trucks also require longer response times to brake or swerve. A sleepy truck driver can cause serious pedestrian accidents, car accidents, and damage.

Unfortunately, the very life of a commercial truck driver can encourage poor sleep. Truck drivers spend a long time sitting down. Little air and exercise can impede a restful sleep. In addition, truck drivers often work odd hours. This can interrupt a body’s natural rhythm and make it harder to sleep well. Finally, some drivers drive too far and too long and therefore become drowsy on the job.

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) has implemented rules about “hours of service.” These rules aim to prevent how long big rig drivers, commercial truck drivers and semi drivers can drive before they have to rest. The rules permit drivers to have 14 hour work shifts. In each shift, drivers can drive for a total of 11 hours. After these 11 hours, drivers are supposed to have 10 hours off duty.

Research released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reveals that up to 4000 people are year are killed in America as a result of trucking accidents involving trucks that have known safety violations. Most Florida personal injury attorneys have worked on trucking accident cases that involve trucks with known brake defects, bad tires, dangerous loads, and other violations. In some cases, these trucks have been cited as unsafe many times but remain on the roads anyway. Some drivers involved in trucking accidents have histories of accidents, substance abuse, or no training. As a result, many experts and attorneys know that many trucking accidents are preventable.

In every state, roadside checks and federal government standards are meant to determine which trucks have less than satisfactory ratings. Although many trucks are given poor ratings, however, many remain on the roads, according to experts. These trucks can easily be involved in accidents which lead to fatalities, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries.

Many personal injury attorneys note that the current financial situation is creating even more unsafe conditions on the roads. The trucking industry is facing financial woes and any costly measures – even safety measures – are often seen as an unneeded expense. Many drivers, worried about the economy, are willing to put up with tight deadlines or other unsafe work conditions to make a wage. And, according to some experts, state agencies are overwhelmed and understaffed, making it less likely that traffic violators are caught and persecuted.