Trucking Accident Attorney Blog

Federal regulations known as hours of service rules dictate the length of time a truck driver can work without taking a break.

The hours of service regulations are issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rules limit the number of daily and weekly hours truck and bus drivers spend driving and working. The rules also outline the minimum time allowed for breaks between shifts.

Under the current rules, a truck driver must be allowed ten hours off duty if he or she has been behind the wheel for more than 11 hours or has been on-duty for 14 hours. The 14-hour limit allows truckers to take care of non-driving duties such as unloading and loading, fueling up and waiting for vehicle inspections.

In addition to the daily limit, the rules also ban driving if the trucker has been on-duty for 60 hours for seven consecutive days or 70 hours for 8 consecutive days.

The hours of service rules are aimed at reducing driver fatigue. Too many hours behind the wheel disrupts the driver’s circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour biological clock that regulates sleep and wakefulness. Lengthy drive times also contribute to sleep deprivation. When a driver spends an inordinate amount of time focusing on one task, performance fatigue also sets in.

Unfortunately, fatigue continues to be a major cause of deadly crashes and efforts to help bus and truck drivers remain alert also make the roads safer.

Despite rules promulgated by the Department of Transportation, truck drivers often drive too many hours without the proper amount of sleep. To get around these regulations, some truck drivers falsify travel logs and fail to properly maintain their trucks and trailers. When such reckless behaviors result in a collision that causes injuries or deaths, the driver and the company are liable. An experienced truck accident attorney will be able to obtain the evidence to prove the truck driver and the company are at fault. GPS tracking data can prove the driver and company violated hours of service rules.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Fewer truck accidents occurred in Missouri comparing 2005 with 2007. In fact there were 23% fewer fatal accidents which means Missouri highways are safer.

The Missouri Highway Patrol reports that the number of commercial motor vehicle fatality crashes fell 23 percent between 2005 and 2007.

There is a misconception that there are a lot of dangerous truck drivers on the roads. For the most part truck drivers drive safely and follow the DOT rules as well as the rules of the road. The few rouge truck drivers who drive too fast, tailgate, and falsify their log books give the other drivers a bad name. Also anyone who drives the highways knows there are a lot of crazy drivers of cars and SUV's. They are usually more dangerous to themselves than other drivers.

Trucks pulling large trailers, however, weigh about 40 tons and can't stop on a dime. When they are involved in an accident with a much smaller vehicle, the results can be tragic. If that happens you will need an experienced truck accident lawyer.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

The parents of a 19-year-old college student who was killed when the car she was riding in was struck by a truck hauling sound equipment for a reality dating show have filed a wrongful death lawsuit, the Associated Press reports.

On Sept. 26, truck driver Dennis Hernandez was hauling equipment for the “Rock of Love Bus” reality series when he allegedly fell asleep at the wheel, crossed the center line and crashed into a car driven by St. Louisan Yasmin Jackson, 19. The collision killed Jackson and her passenger, Kevetta Davis, a 19-year-old from Chicago.

Both were students at Southern Illinois Univeristy Carbondale. They were headed to St. Louis for a weekend visit to Jackson’s home. The accident occurred on Interstate 57 southern Illinois.

Kevin and Brenda Davis, the parents of Kevetta, filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Viacom, VH1, 51 Minds Entertainment and Dennis Hernandez, the truck driver. The suit claims Davis died as a result of carelessness by Hernandez.

Anyone who is injured or has had a close relative killed in a truck accident may sue if the accident was caused by the carelessness of another. Close relatives who may bring a wrongful death suit include the spouse, parents, and the children of the victim. If the children are still minors, the suit may be filed through a guardian or parent.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

A jury in Alabama has awarded $1 million to the son of a man killed in a tractor-trailer crash, the Dothan Eagle reports.

Kenneth Watkins filed the wrongful death suit after his 79-year-old father, Joseph Watkins, was killed at the intersection of U.S. 84 and Conecuh County Road 15 just north of Mobile. Watkins claimed that the truck driver barreled through the intersection traveling 75 miles per hour. The posted recommended speed was 45 miles per hour.

The suit was filed against Rowell Trucking, driver Thomas Wayne Rowell and Greatwide Dedicated Transport.

The defendants alleged that Watkins failed to yield the right of way. But the Conecuh County jury disagreed. After four hours, it handed down the $1 million verdict against the three defendants.

It appears that one of the key pieces of information in the case was the truck’s excessive speed at the time of the accident. The speed of the truck was established by an expert testifying on behalf of the plaintiff.

Frequently expert witnesses are needed to prove fault. The experts chosen to investigate the accident should have special expertise in the design, manufacture and operation of trucks and the rules of the trucking industry.

Experts may not be needed in cases involving clear-cut liability or those in which law-enforcement personnel conducted the accident investigation.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

When trucks are involved in accidents rarely to the accidents involve minor injuries. The fact that truck accidents involve serious injuries is demonstrated by the size of some of the recent jury verdicts in truck accident cases.

Here’s a round-up of recent verdicts involving tractor-trailer crashes that have been handed down across the country:

$87 million – A Texas man who was partially paralyzed after a 6-ton U-Haul truck rolled over him was awarded the amount by a Dallas County jury. The man was helping his daughter move when the accident occurred. It was alleged that U-Haul rented a truck with a faulty emergency brake and worn gears.

$36.3 million – A father of eight in Arizona was killed when a Swift Transportation semi ran a stop sign and plowed into the Suburban he was driving. Just before the crash, the tractor-trailer was going 65 miles per hour and didn’t slow down even after crossing three sets of rumble strips that warn of the impending stop sign. All of the driver’s logs, which federal law requires trucking companies to keep, were “lost.” A Maricopa County jury awarded the man’s family $23.1 million in compensatory damages and $13.5 million in punitive damages.

$29.4 million – A big rig smashed into a highway overpass. A family in an SUV swerved to avoid the wreckage of the exploding trailer and was broadsided by another tractor-trailer. The father died as a result of the injuries he suffered and his daughter was injured. The family claimed that driving an over-height trailer was negligent and sued the truck driver, Transport Expressway Inc., which owned the truck, and Finloc, a leasing company with insurance on the trailer. A jury in Orange County, New York made the award.

$20.1 million – A 62-year-old teacher was rear-ended by an electrical supply truck while his vehicle was stopped at a light. The teacher’s ribs were broken in the crash but while he was hospitalized, he developed medical complications and died. A jury in Clayton County, Georgia handed down the wrongful death award.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Last week, a Texas jury awarded $1.5 million to two men who were hurt when a semi crashed into their car, the Associated Press reports.

In 2006, Ronny Martinez, 37, and Kenneth O’Neal, were driving down a highway in Texas when a tractor-trailer struck their car.

The two men filed a personal injury suit against the truck driver and the trucking company, Indiana-based Celadon Trucking Services. A jury concluded that Celadon negligently hired the truck driver and that its driver caused the crash. The jury also concluded that Martinez, who was driving at the time of the collision, also partially caused the accident.

The jury awarded $750,000 for medical bills and another $750,000 for pain and suffering and personal injuries.

The Associated Press also notes that in 2005, the same trucking company paid $1.25 million to the family of a soldier who was killed when his car rear-ended a stalled semi stopped on a Texas highway because a brake hose had failed. The husband-wife driving team had tried to repair the hose with a toothpick wrapped with tape.

Fault in a truck accident may involve driver error, driver negligence, negligence on the part of the company that hired the driver, negligence on the part of the company that owns the trailer, or all three.

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, more than one-fourth of the truck drivers who are involved in fatal crashes in 2004 had at least one prior speeding conviction. Seven percent of truck drivers had a previous license suspension or revocation and some had prior felony convictions. Many trucking companies negligently hire drivers with bad driving records because they want to move cargo at the cheapest possible price.

Drivers and passengers in cars suffer the majority of injuries when they collide with large trucks because of the weight difference between the two types of vehicles. Cars weigh an average of 3,500 pounds, while large commercial trucks (known as semis, eighteen wheelers, and tractor-trailers) can weigh up to 80,000 pounds with their loads. In car-truck collisions, 98 percent of the fatalities were persons in the cars.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a large truck, we urge you to contact the Lowe Law Firm by calling 877-678-3400 or filling out our online contact form.

Our trucking-accident attorneys will find out whether the truck driver, trucking company, or trailer owner is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.