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Being involved in a truck accident can be one of the most dangerous and terrifying experiences a motorist can experience. The consequences can be very bad, especially for truck accident victims.
It is for this reason that special laws have been implemented to govern the trucking industry. Not only are truck drivers expected to be a lot more cautious when driving on the road, but in the event of crashes involving large trucks, it is they who are scrutinized more than anyone else.
When a Missouri truck accident occurs, the law entitles the victims to file a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault truck driver and the trucking company.
At Powell Law Firm, a semi truck accident attorney in St Louis MO is ready to help truck accident victims to win damages resulting from a trucking accident. They can be reached at (314) 470-1374 for a free consultation.
A Quick Look at Some Truck Accident Stats
To give road users an idea of the dangers posed by commercial truck accidents and how common they are in St. Louis, here are some statistics from 2018:
11% of all fatal crashes involved a large truck
74% of all fatal large truck crashes involved a tractor-trailer
15% of all deaths in large truck accidents were pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists
In 94% of all truck accidents involving a large truck and another smaller vehicle, the accident victims were from the smaller passenger vehicle
What Laws Affect a Trucking Company Specifically?
In light of these grim statistics, and the increase in the number of semi-truck accidents on US highways, trucking companies, and all other parties in the trucking industry, are subject to special rules and regulations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for creating the laws that govern trucking companies and cover things such as:
Maximum vehicle weight
Use of hand-held devices while driving
Hazardous materials transportation standards
Essential emergency signal equipment
Drug and alcohol testing of truck drivers
Inspections of all trucks
Licensing requirements to be a truck driver
Insurance requirements for trucks and truck drivers crossing state lines
One of the areas that are closely looked at in all trucking companies is the Missouri hours of service regulations for truck drivers. Different, but equally strict, rules apply for property carriers and passenger carriers, as follows:
Property carriers are limited to a maximum of 10 hours of service with 11-hour rest periods in between shifts. They are also not allowed to exceed 60 hours of service in seven consecutive days or 70 hours in eight consecutive days.
Passenger carriers can only work for 10 hours of service before resting for eight hours and cannot exceed 15 hours of service in a single day. They are limited to 60 hours of service in seven consecutive days or 70 hours in eight consecutive days, just like property carriers.
What Makes Trucks Dangerous?
The greatest danger posed by truck accidents comes from the huge potential for deaths or severe injuries. Some of the common injuries that victims can suffer from include:
Severe burns and disfigurement
Traumatic brain injuries
Broken bones and fractures
Nerve damage and soft tissue injuries
Amputations
Paralysis and spinal cord injuries
Internal organ failure
Neck, shoulder, and back injuries
Death
What makes truck accidents so much more dangerous than regular car crashes? The following factors have been identified as the likely causes:
Driver Fatigue
The level of competition in the trucking industry is very high. To get ahead of the pack, trucking companies are often guilty of pushing their drivers too hard.
However, the probability of a truck crash happening is increased when the truck driver is too tired to make the right decisions. This is why one of the first things scrutinized in a semi-truck accident is whether the trucking company is giving its drivers enough rest.
Weight and Ground Clearance
One of the most notable things about a semi-truck is its sheer size, weight, and ground clearance.
The bumper of a large semi truck can easily be higher than the window level of most passenger vehicles. It is also very heavy, even before considering the extra weight added by the cargo.
This is why, in the event of a semi-truck accident, passengers of the smaller vehicle are exposed to a greater risk of severe injuries than the semi-truck driver. Here are some insights on the percentage of truck accidents caused by cars.
Braking Capacity
One of the causes of many semi-truck accidents is the difficulty of stopping a large truck when it is traveling at high speed.
The very high momentum caused by the combined weight of the truck and its cargo means a huge amount of breaking force and a longer breaking distance is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
Unless the truck driver is experienced enough to anticipate the truck crash before it happens, a truck accident is usually unavoidable.
Overloaded Cargo Is a Common Factor in Truck Accidents
Overloading and poor cargo securement are issues that have been linked to many crashes that involve large trucks.
Proper loading and securing of cargo in a semi-truck or tractor-trailer can help prevent truck accidents from happening and save the lives of so many drivers.
What dangers does overlooking such a simple thing pose to truck accident victims? The following types of accidents are likely to happen when a truck driver neglects to load and secure their cargo properly:
Falling Cargo
If the cargo securement is not done correctly, as the truck goes around a corner or a bend, the cargo on the semi-truck or tractor-trailer can fall to the side and onto the road.
Furthermore, if a passenger vehicle happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, they can easily be crushed or otherwise injured by whatever goods the truck driver is hauling.
Shifting Cargo
When a truck driver fails to keep control of the vehicle at any time, a truck accident can easily occur. One thing that can make it very difficult to keep the truck under control is shifting cargo.
When the cargo securement is poor, the load may lean to one side of the vehicle causing the balance to go off. This will increase the likelihood of the truck spinning, rolling, or jackknifing, which are all very serious types of truck accidents.
Decreased Stopping Distance
The chances that a truck accident in Missouri could have been prevented if the driver had stopped in time are quite high. Drivers undergo special training to help them judge the required braking distance, especially in cases where they have extra weight from, for example, a tractor-trailer.
However, all that training goes out the window if the tractor-trailer is overloaded and the cargo securement is not done the right way.
Mechanical Failures
An over-loaded tractor-trailer has a higher chance of experiencing mechanical failure, especially in cases where the road is bad or the driver is driving very fast. When this happens, there is nothing more dangerous than an out-of-control tractor-trailer swinging wildly across the road.
Establishing Liability in a Missouri Truck Accident Case
Proving liability in cases of commercial truck accidents is not easy in Missouri, especially since more than one party may be responsible for the breach of federal regulations. As such, victims need a good lawyer to assist them because filing a lawsuit against the wrong party may result in the entire case being thrown out of court.
One other thing that makes establishing liability more complicated is the fact that Missouri laws recognize the part the victim also plays in causing the accident. Under pure comparative negligence laws, the victim may end up receiving less compensation than they would have hoped for because the court rules that they played a significant role in causing the accident.
Damages a Truck Accident Lawyer Can Win
When victims file a truck accident claim in Missouri, they have a good chance of walking away with hefty compensation for damages suffered. With an experienced truck accident lawyer, Missouri State laws can award the following types of damages:
Economic Damages
These are monetary damages paid to the victim to compensate for quantifiable losses that can be easily calculated and demonstrated during Missouri truck accident cases, such as:
Medical Expenses
Missouri law allows the victims of trucking accidents to receive compensation for any medical bills they had to pay for the treatment of injuries sustained as a direct result of a trucking accident.
These expenses include but are not limited to, hospitalization, medication, surgery, rehabilitation, psychological therapy, and prolonged care due to lifelong disability.
Property Damage
The nature of a truck accident means that property damage is almost always a likely outcome. Any property damage that can be successfully proven in a truck accident case will be compensated by the at-fault driver, the trucking company, or their insurers.
Some of the best ways to prove property damage in personal injury cases are to provide pictures, police reports, and witness statements.
Lost Wages of Reduced Earning Potential
Staying in the hospital for a long time or being unable to return to work due to being disabled will result in a significant amount of lost income.
In such a truck accident case, a fair settlement will have to take into account the impact not having a steady income will have on the victims and their families.
Wrongful Death
Commercial trucks have been the cause of a lot of fatal crashes, and this loss of life has a huge impact on the economical security of the victim's dependents. In cases where the deceased was the breadwinner for the family, their death should be considered as having the same impact as lost income.
Non-economic Damages
These damages represent the non-monetary impact the semi-truck accident has had on the victim or the family of the deceased. Not all states in the US recognize these kinds of damages as admissible.
While Missouri law allows the victims to receive damages for non-monetary losses, the amount that constitutes fair compensation is up to the judge to decide. In most accidents involving commercial vehicles, these damages are awarded for pain and suffering as well as a loss of companionship in the event of wrongful death.
However, it should be noted that non-economic damages can be hard to prove. In most cases, it requires all the skills of an experienced lawyer to show that the pain and suffering the victim went through warrants compensation.
Punitive Damages
Drivers of commercial trucks who exhibit extreme negligence resulting in the injury or deaths of innocent victims can be slapped with additional punishment in the form of punitive damages.
These can be awarded if the victim's lawyers can prove that the driver or the trucking companies intentionally disregarded federal regulations to cause harm to the plaintiff.
Who Is Responsible for Paying Damages
Although, in the aftermath of most fatal crashes involving large trucks the truck driver is blamed, it is not always their fault entirely. In fact, blame can be shared with or directed to one of the following parties:
Truck Driver
The driver could have caused the accident by being negligent, speeding, driving recklessly, or failing to use sound judgment. They can also undergo drug testing and be found to have been driving while intoxicated.
Trucking Company
Commercial truck companies are usually guilty of overworking their drivers by pushing them to meet unrealistic deadlines which contribute to driver fatigue in the vast majority of accidents.
Truck Manufacturer
Mechanical faults, such as those involving the braking system can be traced all the way back to the manufacturer. If it can be proved that faulty parts installed by the manufacturer caused the driver to lose control or fail to stop in time, then they can be liable to compensate the victims of the accident.
The Powell Law Firm Is One Call Away
In Saint Louis, Missouri, truck accident victims have a champion ready to fight for them in court. Powell Law Firm has an impressive track record of winning millions of dollars in settlements for its clients.
This reputation has been earned by the tireless work of an experienced panel of personal injury attorneys. We have become experts in the legal doctrine of accidents involving large trucks and other vehicles. Powell Law Firm is available any time of the day for a free consultation.