Trucking Company Negligence | Kentucky Trucking Accident Lawyer
Trucking accidents can be deadly or cause catastrophic injuries, and when you or a loved one has been in a Trucking accident, people tend to find fault in the driver. However, sometimes the fault is not at all or in part the driver’s fault, but the trucking company.
Trucking company negligence cases include the following conditions:
- Negligent hiring of unqualified/under-qualified drivers
- Overloaded/unbalanced rigs
- Improper maintenance/failure to inspect
- Hours of Service (HOS) violations or non-compliance
- Failure to train drivers
- Other federal regulatory non-compliance
- Negligent Hiring Practices
Trucking companies have a responsibility to properly screen for trained and qualified drivers. With the mandatory implementation of Electronic Logging Devices that digitally monitor Hours of Service compliance, truckers are seeing a decline in wages, because pushing the HOS envelope results in fewer miles driven in a week. Given they’re paid by the mile, more experienced drivers are leaving to find work elsewhere, and they’re being replaced by younger rookie drivers.
It used to be that new drivers apprenticed with experienced drivers before getting their own rig. Now, as companies make hiring decisions to fill the demand for drivers, they may cut corners and put someone behind the wheel who doesn’t have enough training.
One such corner that is often cut is medical screening. Medical conditions -- even including high blood pressure -- disqualifies drivers by DOT standards. However, the company may go through a medical service provider known to rubber stamp their drivers, placing medically unqualified drivers behind the wheel of such powerful and dangerous vehicles.
Improper Maintenance and Rig Load Issues
Tractor trailer trucks are large, powerful machines. A semi truck engine may have a cylinder displacement of 11-13 liters, which is 7-8 times the volume displacement of an everyday Ford sedan.
These large, powerful machines, the rigs and tires require a keen attention to proper maintenance recommendations. But trucking companies, in an effort to cut corners and lower costs, may violate maintenance recommendations and requirements in such a way as to render a vehicle unsafe.
The rig’s load itself is nothing simple. Hauling a heavy load over a long distance is more complicated than simply loading a trailer and hitting the road. The most common violation is overloading a rig, which exceeds a maximum gross vehicle weight of 80,000 lbs.
Semi truck drivers don’t have to stop at weigh stations. Indeed, some say you can’t get shaken down by a weigh station if you just don’t go to the weight station. Abusing load limit regulations and avoiding detection by weigh stations can result in trucking company liability if the driver ends up in an accident.
Hours of Service (HOS) Violations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FCMSA) limits how long a driver can go without a break. By December 2017, it was required that all large truck drivers have an electronic logging device (ELD), logging their miles and hours and breaks. Before ELDs, a pencil and paper log could be manipulated by the driver to hide Hours of Service (HOS) violations.
Now with the ELDs, the responsibility is as strong as ever on the trucking company to monitor and ensure compliance with HOS regulations. Negligence or pressuring drivers to cut corners opens up the trucking companies to liability if it results in an accident.
The problem with pushing Hours of Service is that drivers become drowsy or fall asleep at the wheel, which can cause extreme accidents when semi trucks accidentally merge lanes into another driver, or even cross the median striking oncoming vehicles head-on.
The Importance of Hiring an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer
Trucking company negligence cases are complicated. An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you in a number of ways compared to one with no experience.
First, it all comes down to ensuring that you or an injured loved one receives the proper medical attention. Not all symptoms appear immediately, so proper monitoring is required to detect further complication, and you need to focus on receiving any longer term care or physical therapy on your road to recovery. Injury lawyers deal with all types of injuries, so they will help you both seek the best care options, as well as navigate the process of dealing with the expenses and building a case for medical reimbursement.
A great lawyer also understands the importance of preserving the evidence. Your totaled car is evidence. As this Huffington Post article outlined:
“Federal law states that if a motor carrier’s name and license number is displayed on a tractor-trailer, the carrier is considered to be in exclusive possession and control of the rig and is vicariously liable for injuries caused by the driver’s negligence (liability for the acts of another).”
Opening up an accident to third party or vicarious liability begins to run into a complex array of issues, where someone without experience will have a difficult time even knowing where to begin.
You can be sure that the trucking company and their insurance provider are going to be doing everything they can to minimize any financial liability on their part.
Why, then, wouldn’t you want someone skilled at cutting through their defenses and securing you the compensation you are entitled to.
FREE Consultation within 24 Hours, Guaranteed
The experienced Kentucky trucking accident lawyers at Dallas & Turner, PLLC, regularly work on trucking accident cases and have experience dealing with the difficult process of establishing trucking company negligence.
You don’t need to hesitate -- you can call us right now at (859) 630-0666, talk to us via live chat or email us using our FREE online contact form.
We guarantee you will hear back from one of our experienced truck accident lawyers within 24 hours, so that we can discuss the merits of your case.
You may be entitled to (but not limited to) compensation the following:
- Medical bills
- Future medical care
- Physical therapy
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Loss of earning capacity
When clients sign with the personal injury lawyers at Dallas & Turner, PLLC, they do so with the peace of mind knowing that we don’t get paid until you get paid.
Don’t wait, call today (859) 630-0666!
James Ryan Turner, Experienced Injury Lawyer in Florence, KY
"Trucking company negligence cases are very challenging, and an experienced trucking lawyer can make a huge difference in receiving the compensation you deserve. You can speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer today. Call now!"
