subject: Truck Accident Personal Injury Claims [print this page] When a truck accident occurs, it can cause significant loss to the parties involved. Trucks are many times larger and heavier than passenger vehicles and a truck accident is likely to lead to serious injuries or even fatalities. When you are involved in a truck accident in the Houston area, contacting a local personal injury attorney becomes very important so you can get the compensation that you are entitled to under the law.
Proving Liability in Truck Accident Personal Injury Claims
A truck accident can occur for a number of different reasons. Some possible causes of a truck accident include:
A fatigued driver. Drivers of commercial motor vehicles are restricted in the number of hours they can drive by regulations passed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, as well as by state law. These regulations are intended to prevent fatigued driving accidents. Numerous studies have shown that fatigued driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving and that an accident with a sleeping driver can have especially deadly consequences since the driver doesn't brake or swerve to avoid a head on collision as a driver would if he were awake.
An improperly maintained truck. Trucks should have their brakes and other systems checked regularly in order to ensure that they are in good working condition. In fact, the law requires trucking companies to keep maintenance records to ensure that the trucks are maintained as required. When a truck is not maintained properly and the systems fail, this can result in a serious accident.
A drunk driver. While drivers of passenger vehicles must have a .08 BAC to be considered intoxicated, drivers with a commercial license can be prohibited from driving with a BAC of .04 or higher. This more stringent standard reflects the dangers inherent in a driver of a large vehicle operating while impaired.
A careless driver. Any time a driver of a passenger vehicle behaves in a careless or improper manner, this can lead to an accident. In some cases, the driver may break the rules of the road. For instance, he may speed, fail to yield or otherwise break a safety rule. In other instances, he may be in compliance with the law but still behave in a manner not appropriate for the conditions at the time. Typically, to determine whether the driver is negligent in these cases, his or her behavior is compared with what a reasonable driver in his position would have done.
A personal injury lawyer can help in any of these situations to gather required evidence to prove that the driver in question should be held legally liable. In addition, in many instances, the trucking company who employs the driver can also be held responsible for an accident through their own negligence (if they were not careful in hiring or supervising the driver) or because of the negligence of their employee (employees are considered to act as agents for, or on behalf of, their employers).
To determine the best course of action after a truck accident and for help determining how to proceed with your case, contact an experienced personal injury lawyer today.
by: Jason M. Byrd
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