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Tractor/Trailer Accidents
Attorney Phillip H. Miller has critical experience in dealing with the complexities of Tennessee's State Laws. He can help you succeed in attaining the justice you seek and the compensation you deserve. If you have been injured at the hands of a tractor trailer driver, you should consult with personal injury attorneys who are specifically knowledgeable and active in this area of the law. You need to know and understand your rights under the law. The personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller and Associates are here to help you. Call our Nashville, Tennessee office now for a free consultation. Get answers fast.
How does one establish liability in accidents involving large trucks?
- The use of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) code may be an important tool to establish liability in truck cases and to show the negligent conduct of the truck driver and the motor carrier contributed to or caused the collision. Auto accident attorneys in Nashville , Tennessee can help you understand how the regulations may apply to your specific case. [For more information on Truck Safety check out http://www.trucksafety.org]
- Truck driver and motor carriers may be jointly and severally liable for violating the regulations. In most jurisdictions, a violation of a statute or ordinance adopted for the public's safety may be negligence per se and may establish the violator's civil liability.
- Before the negligence per se doctrine can apply, injured parties must show that they are members of the class that the statute or ordinance was intended to protect.
- In addition the injured party must show that the injuries suffered were of the kind that the statute was enacted to prevent. Further the party must show that the statute or ordinance prescribes or proscribes the conduct at issue and that this conduct proximately caused the alleged harm.
What evidence must be secured after a truck crash?
- In truck crash litigation, it is important to immediately secure all evidence that may otherwise be lost, destroyed, or become unavailable. For example, the FMCSR requires all drivers to complete a log book (also known as Record of Duty Status) to document the number of hours the driver has operated the truck, been off duty, and been on duty but not driving.
- The FMCSR establishes timetables for drivers to file records with the motor carrier within 13 days of completing the approved log. The driver's home terminal must keep the logbook until the 20th day of the next calendar month. The book is then forwarded to the carrier's principal place of business and retained for 6 (six) months.
- Immediately after a crash, trucking company representatives and its accident reconstruction experts will secure the semi trailer and perform the background investigation.
- Critical evidence inside the truck, including beer cans, pep pills, cellular phones, magazines and duplicate logbooks may be removed.
- The truck itself may be sold for scrap and destroyed before auto accident attorneys can even be consulted by members of the victim's family to protect their interests. Contact our Nashville, Tennessee office today to prevent this from occurring.
Is there a possibility of third party liability?
In severe crashes, it may be prudent to search for entities partly or wholly responsible for the collision. For example, a company that loaded its goods into a trailer may be liable for damages caused by the negligent loading or configuring of the trailer if the contents shift and cause the vehicle to lose control or the contents fall on people unloading it. Due to the complexity of the laws surrounding the specifics of accidents involving large trucks and the required prompt action to secure the proper evidence, you should consult qualified personal injury attorneys immediately. Your rights are our priority at Phillip Miller and Associates. Call our Nashville, Tennessee office now for a free consultation.
2005 Traffic Safety Facts: Tractors & Trailers.
The Facts:
- In 1998, 412,000 large trucks (gross vehicle rating greater than 10,000 pounds) were involved in traffic crashes in the United States: 4,935 were involved in fatal crashes.
- In 1998, a total of 5,374 people died as a result of accidents involving large trucks and an additional 127,000 were injured in those crashes.
- One out of eight traffic fatalities in 1998 resulted from a collision involving a large truck.
- In 1998, large trucks were 3 times as likely as other vehicles to be struck in the rear in two-vehicle crashes.
- In the United States, 15 people die each day in truck related fatalities, a number that is the rough equivalent of a major airline crash every two weeks.
- Drivers over the age of 65 are 6x (times) as likely to be killed by being hit from behind by a heavy truck, as are drivers under the age of 65.
- The intoxication rate for drivers of large trucks involved in fatal crashes in 1998 was 1%.
- 29% of drivers in a 1988 survey stated that they regularly drive under the influence of illegal drugs including marijuana, speed and cocaine/crack. Though drivers estimate that 36% of truck accidents are due to driver fatigue.
- Most of the fatal crashes involving large trucks occurred in rural areas (67%), during the day (68%), and on weekdays (80%).
- Almost 30% of all large truck drivers involved in fatal crashes in 1998 had at least one prior speeding conviction.
- Nearly one-fourth (23%) of fatal crashes that took place in work zones (areas of construction, maintenance, or utility activity) involved a large truck.
- The current HOS (Hours of Service) Rule for Truck Drivers permits commercial truckers alternately to drive a maximum of 10 hours straight and to rest for a minimum of 8 hours until reaching 60 hours in seven days or 70 hours of driving in eight days. This permits as much as 16 hours of driving in any 24-hour period on an 18-hour drive/rest schedule. Driver fatigue and unrealistic schedules are critical factors in driver negligence and account for an estimated 750 deaths and 20,000 injuries each year. [For more details on this issue check out http://www.trucksafety.org/hosfaq62.htm]
- Most tractor-trailers are 65 feet long and in dual or triple combination the overall length may stretch to the ISTEA (Intermodal Surface
- According to two studies issued by the Truckload Carriers Association, "Drivers will understate their non-driving hours in their log books Transportation Efficiency Act) maximum of 110 feet, the same as an average city block. Without restrictions public safety will be compromised. because employers can legally pay drivers nothing at all for any and all of their non-driving work. Thus, if drivers want to be paid for their legal maximum 70 hours of work they are legally allowed to perform each week, they must work over 100 hours." Motor carrier management, knowing that drivers do not record their non-driving hours, heap as many such hours on their drivers as they possible can. To please shippers, motor carrier management routinely requires its drivers to wait, unload, and load at the shipper's warehouses at no cost to the shipper. After a day of such work, they are expected to drive for 10 hours or until they can stay awake no longer.
Your safety is at risk due to the financial power of the Trucking Industry; lobbyists have made further deregulation of the Trucking Industry a probability. Larger, longer, heavier trucks will result in an increase in the amount of innocent lives being injured or lost, especially when many drivers are inadequately trained and driving too far and too long. The lobbyists for the Trucking Industry are flexing their muscle against innovations in electronic and satellite technology that would monitor driver hours. There is an overdue proposal in government to add electronic, onboard recorders for at least two of the five driver categories. This would replace the use of logbooks, which can be altered. The Trucking Industry is striving to stop this process cold. If you have been injured in an accident involving a large truck, the personal injury lawyers at Phillip Miller and Associates in Nashville, Tennessee can assist you in getting the justice you seek and the compensation you deserve. Call us we want to help.
Notice:
Each case is different and different facts may yield a result you would never expect from reading this brief Web page. The information on this Web site cannot replace the careful consideration of personal factors and changes in the law, which may apply to your legal problem. While this information may help you, do not rely on it as the final answer to a legal question.