Three Reasons You Need an Experienced Trucking Accident Attorney

November 21, 2022

Trucking accidents often cause catastrophic injuries and fatalities. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh over twenty times the average passenger car. This enormous disparity in weight means that occupants of passenger vehicles tend to fare poorly in collisions with commercial trucks. Collisions involving big rigs differ significantly from other types of motor vehicle accidents in ways other than the overwhelming size of one of the vehicles. Because trucking accidents raise special issues, a victim of a negligent commercial driver and/or an indifferent trucking company benefits from retaining an experienced trucking accident injury lawyer.

In this article, we highlight three (3) unique features that distinguish accident claims involving 18-wheelers.

Extensive Regulatory Framework: Due to the risk of injury when a forty-ton tractor-trailer collides with a 3,000-pound passenger car, lawmakers at both the state and federal level have imposed extensive regulations on the trucking industry. Violations of these trucking regulations often provide a basis for imposing liability on truck drivers and trucking companies. Attorneys who handle these cases must possess extensive knowledge of these rules and regulations. These regulations address many areas of trucking industry safety, including but not limited to the following:

Driver training, licensing, and certification requirements
Pre-employment screening of commercial drivers
Training and supervision of drivers
Hours of service rules (anti-fatigue standards)
Limits on the length and weight of large trucks
Mandatory drug and alcohol testing
Vehicle inspection and maintenance requirements
Certification of medical fitness of drivers

Sophisticated Defendants: Trucking companies recognize that their drivers spend massive amount of time on the road, which creates a significant risk of liability. Because trucking companies anticipate the risk of crash-based liability arising from collisions involving their drivers, they typically can dispatch a team of investigators to a crash site immediately following a crash. Trucking companies task these investigators with gathering evidence to build a defense long before most accident victims can seek legal advice. Experienced trucking accident attorneys routinely work with their own experts so that victims of negligent truckers can balance the scales of justice. These cases also typically involve multiple businesses that attempt to shift blame to another party. Defendants in these cases may include the owner of the tractor-trailer, the shipper, an independent maintenance company, the company that packed the load, and others.

Special Evidentiary Challenges: Driver fatigue constitutes a common cause of collisions involving large trucks. A widely cited study, the Large Truck Crash Causation Study, conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimated that driver fatigue played a role in 13 percent of commercial trucking accidents. A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) study also found fatigue to be a factor in almost a third (31%) of all trucking accidents. Because trucking companies frequently falsify electronic hours of service (HOS) records, experienced trucking accident lawyers examine many other sources of information to expose such tactics. Trucking lawyers often seek gas receipts, lodging records, GPS data, electronic communications between the driver and trucking company, and much more.

If you have experienced injury or lost a loved one because of a negligent truck driver, an experienced tractor-trailer truck accident attorney from Montlick Injury Attorneys can review your situation and advise you regarding your legal right to compensation. If your truck accident claim is handled by Montlick Injury Attorneys, we will fight hard to recover the most amount of money allowable under Georgia law. If we are unable to obtain a settlement amount the is fair and just, we will be ready to take your case to trial. A favorable ruling could include a substantial jury award. Our firm has recovered Billions of dollars for our clients.

Legal Help for Car Accident Victims

Did you or a loved one sustain injuries or suffer the loss of a loved one in an accident caused by a truck driver's negligence? Protect your legal rights by calling Montlick Injury Attorneys Nationwide, 24/7, at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333). Our Car Accident Injury Lawyers are here to listen, understand your situation, and provide you with a free consultation. Our trial attorneys have recovered billions of dollars for our personal injury clients through negotiated settlements, litigation/lawsuits, settlement of lawsuits, jury verdicts, mediation, and arbitration awards.

Please visit our Montlick Injury Attorneys reviews to see what our clients have to say about our commitment to exceptional service.

No matter where you are located, our trucking accident attorneys are just a phone call away, and we will even come to you. Call us nationwide 24 hours day/7 days a week for your Free Consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333), or simply dial #WIN (#946) from your mobile phone. You can also visit us online at Montlick.com and use our Free Case Evaluation Form or Free 24-hour live chat.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK384974/

https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/research-and-analysis/report-congress-large-truck-crash-causation-study-0#:~:text=The%20Large%20Truck%20Crash%20Causation%20Study%20%28LTCCS%29%20identifies,to%202003%20at%2024%20sites%20in%2017%20States.

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Category: Auto Accidents