Truck Accidents
Truck Accident Lawyer in West Plains
According to the United States Department of Transportation, there are more than 500,000 truck accidents every year. Approximately 5,000 people die each year in accidents with a simi-truck or tractor / trailer. Sixty-eight percent of the truck accidents that occur in this country are in rural areas - making our area particularly susceptible.
While there are many different causes of truck accidents, there is almost always one significant effect: serious bodily injury or death. A person who has been involved in an accident with a truck weighing possibly up to 40 times more than the vehicle that they are in is very likely to suffer serious or even fatal injuries. According to statistics provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2009, there were approximately 296,000 large trucks weighing over 10,000 pounds involved in traffic accidents. Truck accidents accounted for 12 percent of all traffic accident deaths.
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Investigating Fault
The catastrophe caused by a truck accident will require a lot of police investigations and legal interference. Only in this way can the cause of the accident be determined and fault be applied accordingly. This is a much more difficult task than it might first appear, as the truck driver is not always the one to blame, or at least not entirely. Therefore, thorough investigations will need to be conducted in order to determine where the true fault lies. This can be done through recreation of the accident itself, assessment of truck driving records, reviewing logbooks, collecting evidence from the scene and downloading data from EOBRS (electronic on-board recorders).
The At Fault Party Is Like One of The Following:
Truck Driver
Truckers are tasked with a lot of responsibilities, many more than just attentively adhering to the rules of the road. In addition, they are expected to adhere to the hours of operation that have been set forth for them, avoiding exceeding these hours and risking fatigue, conducting thorough inspections of the vehicle prior to driving, accommodating for severe weather conditions and so much more. Any truck driver who fails to properly abide by these conditions could be at fault in an accident that results from such negligent or reckless behaviors.
Truck Company
Sometimes, the fault of an accident lies more with the trucking company that the truck driver. It is a company's responsibility to adopt all new safety plans and laws that pertain to their drivers and trucks. In addition, these companies are expected to conduct thorough background checks during the interview process and ensure that their drivers are never operating a vehicle under the influence of any intoxicating substances. Along with their drivers, companies should also be involved in the inspections of their vehicles before they are driven on the road with other motorists and motorcyclists.
Truck Manufacturer
Trucking accidents can be unavoidable when faulty manufacturing is at play. Even when the truck driver and the company for which they work have taken every safety precaution necessary, a truck with fault brakes or defective parts can cause an accident. Under these circumstances, the fault may lie not with the driver, and not with the trucking company, but with the original manufacturer of the vehicle.
What Are the Trucking Regulations?
Both federal and state governments have issued regulations that are meant to guide truckers and the companies that employ them. These are known as the Motor Carrier Safety (MCS) regulations. These regulations require trucking companies and their drivers to meet a series of basic standards that apply to a vehicle's maintenance, a driver's time on the road and all other conditions that could adversely affect a trucker's ability maintain safety while driving on highways across the country. Accidents are most often caused when these conditions are not appropriately accommodated for, making it all the more necessary for truckers and trucking companies to follow the rules of the road as well as the specific mandates that have been set forth for them by local and federal governances.
Specifically, commercial trucking regulations include a set number of hours that will be allotted to each driver operating the vehicles; this breakdown includes time limits per day and per week. Trucking companies are required to keep thorough records and logbooks that record their drivers' hours of operation and frequency on the road. Truckers and the companies they work for are also mandated to conduct inspections of the vehicles before traveling on the road and sometimes at intervals of long drive times as well. When these regulations are not followed or properly met, accidents are much more likely to occur.
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Let our West Plains MO injury attorneys investigate the situation and determine whether or not the regulations were followed and what legal action should be taken if they were not properly adhered. Having recovered millions of dollars in compensation, we are Life Members of the Million Dollar and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forums®, denoting our commitment and history of success.
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