truck accident lawyers

Failing to abide by state or federal trucking regulations is a common way trucking companies can be negligent and end up causing truck accidents. This negligence can include (and is not limited to) failing to:

• Properly screen drivers during the hiring process
• Train drivers, especially if there are special rules for the cargo they handle (like hazardous materials or animals)
• Maintain trucks to keep them in safe condition
• Comply with cargo securement and loading rules
• Enforce or abide by hours-of-service rules
  
  It often takes some digging into motor carrier’s records, vehicle maintenance records, and more to find out if truck company negligence has caused a wreck.

Equipment failures and mechanical problems on 18-wheelers cause about 6% of all fatal 18-wheeler crashes. While the brakes and the tires experience the most failures, it’s not uncommon for other essential systems — like the transmission, the engine, and the electrical systems — to fail if manufacturers fail to:

• Design safe equipment
• Properly install equipment on trucks
• Test the safety of their equipment
  
  Here, it’s important to remember that a truck’s mechanical failures may not solely be the result of manufacturer negligence. In some cases, motor carriers’ failures to maintain trucks or even overloading 18-wheelers can also play a role in equipment failures and big rig crashes.

Various other forms of negligence can and does lead to serious semi crashes far too often. Some examples include:

• Failures to properly secure cargo: Each year, about 10,000 truck accidents result from unstable or unsecured cargo. These cargo failures can lead to top heavy 18-wheelers, jackknife truck accidents, and runaway trailer wrecks.
• Failures to pull over in adverse weather: When heavy storms or any adverse weather minimizes visibility and makes the roads dangerous, truckers and motor carriers may still choose to forge ahead, even though it would be safer to pull over.
• Unsafe roads: Dangerous road design, a lack of signs and traffic signals, and failures to keep streets in decent condition can all lead to tractor-trailer crashes. For example, if roads lack shoulder areas for vehicles to safely pull off the road, any vehicles that do end up stopped on the roadside can be in the path of traffic and end up causing big rig accidents.
  
  The best way to figure out all forms of negligence that may have been at play in a truck accident is to talk to a lawyer at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.