When Can You File a Lawsuit Against a Trucking Company?

Commercial truck companies must follow strict guidelines set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). As personal injury attorneys handling truck accident cases, we can tell you that trucking companies do not always follow these regulations. In some cases, companies are more concerned with making profits than ensuring public safety. Trucking company negligence is a primary cause of truck accidents. Examples of negligence may include:

• Negligent hiring and retention. Truck companies must maintain driver qualification files (also called DQ files) for their drivers. DQ files contain detailed information on drivers. These files may contain moving violations, medical certifications, annual review records, and drug test results. However, companies may neglect to maintain these files or knowingly allow unqualified employees to continue driving. Companies also hire unqualified drivers.

• Hours-of-service violations: rules place limits on how long commercial truck drivers can drive. The purpose of these rules is to prevent drowsy driving accidents. Truck companies must ensure their drivers comply with hours-of-service rules. However, some companies may encourage their drivers to violate these regulations. In other cases, they may turn a blind eye to hours-of-service violations.

• Poor maintenance practices. Semi-trucks are subject to regular wear and tear. Truck companies must inspect and perform necessary maintenance on these vehicles so they are safe to drive.

• Negligent training. Truck companies must train new hires. New employees should understand how to record hours of service in compliance with the requirements. They must know how to drive a vehicle carrying heavy loads and how to signal nearby drivers properly. Commercial truck drivers should know how to load and secure cargo.

• Improper loading: Cargo on semi-trucks must be loaded properly and tied down, or it can shift while the vehicle is moving. This could cause the driver to lose control and may lead to a rollover accident. Truck companies may also try to overload vehicles to boost profits. An overloaded truck takes longer to stop and will hit other objects with greater impact force. In addition, an overloaded truck can suffer damage that makes it unsafe to drive.

Injured in an 18-Wheeler Accident? Let Our East Texas Truck Accident Lawyers Help

Our truck accident attorneys have seen every trick in the book. Some companies skirt federal rules to make more money. Unfortunately, it is our friends, family members, and neighbors who could end up paying the price for these selfish actions. Negligent trucking companies can also be held responsible for damages caused to other motorists. If you or loved ones were harmed in a truck accident, then it is vital to act quickly by hiring an attorney. Companies may try to eliminate evidence of their negligence, such as by tampering with a vehicle’s electronic control module. This device may record a semi-truck's speed, driving time, and other information. If you believe a trucking company is responsible for your injuries or loss, then please call Mike Love & Associates, LLC to discuss possible legal options.

When is a Truck Company Liable for an 18-Wheeler Accident?

Large commercial trucks are much more likely than other vehicles to cause catastrophic injuries and deaths. These massive commercial vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when they are fully loaded. For this reason, truck companies and commercial drivers are required to be compliant with state and federal regulations that help prevent truck accidents. Unfortunately, some truck companies may ignore these regulations. In some cases, these companies engage in negligent business practices that may cause truck accidents. Examples of trucking company negligence that could cause an 18-wheeler accident include:

• Negligent hiring: Trucking companies may hire drivers who are unfit to operate commercial vehicles. For instance, if a trucking company knowingly hired a driver with an extensive history of safety violations, it could be considered negligent hiring. Another example could be a trucking company hiring a driver who is medically unqualified to operate a commercial vehicle. Trucking companies must conduct extensive background checks on commercial drivers before extending employment offers.

• Negligent retention: A trucking company could be liable for an accident if it continued to employ a driver who was unfit to operate a commercial vehicle. Trucking companies must conduct annual driver reviews.

• Hours-of-service violations: Federal regulations require trucking companies to ensure their drivers comply with hours-of-service regulations. These are “cut-off times” where it is no longer permissible to operate a property-carrying commercial vehicle. However, trucking companies may allow their drivers to commit hours-of-service violations. As a result, their employees may cause fatigued driving accidents.

• Poor maintenance practices: Commercial vehicles can break down and cause accidents when trucking companies fail to perform regular maintenance. For example, pieces of a semi-truck, such as the driver’s shaft, could come loose and hit other vehicles. If brakes were not maintained or replaced, then a semi-truck may be unable to stop in time to avoid a collision.

• Unsafe loading practices: Cargo must be loaded into a commercial truck correctly. If cargo is not properly tied down, then it can shift and cause a rollover crash. In addition, a rollover crash could occur if cargo weight is not evenly distributed throughout the trailer.

• Failure to follow regulations: There are numerous other Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) statistics that trucking companies are required to follow. A trucking company could also be liable when a violation causes an accident.

Do I Need an Attorney After an 18 Wheeler Accident?

Our blog today does not cover an exhaustive list of situations in which a trucking company could be liable for an accident. If you or a loved one were harmed during a crash with a commercial truck, then it is essential to discuss your situation with an experienced Texas truck accident lawyer. At Mike Love & Associates, LLC, our attorneys provide free consultations that could help determine whether a trucking company is responsible for your accident. Texas truck accident attorney Mike Love is the former owner of a truck company. Other law firms throughout Texas have sought Mike Love’s assistance on truck accident lawsuits.

Department of Transportation Pulls Sleep Apnea Trucking Rule

The US Department of Transportation has halted the implementation of its proposed obstructive sleep apnea screening rule for commercial drivers. If this rule had been implemented by the FMCSA, an agency within the Department of Transportation, then it may have helped identify and treat commercial drivers with the condition. Commercial truck drivers with untreated obstructive sleep apnea are a public safety risk because of symptoms caused by the condition. When left untreated, obstructive sleep apnea causes breathing interruptions during sleep. These interruptions can cause people with the condition to jolt awake multiple times per night. As a result, people with untreated sleep apnea may experience excessive daytime drowsiness, trouble concentrating, and slowed reaction times. For commercial truck drivers, this means they are more prone to falling asleep behind the wheel or failing to respond to potential hazards.

Other aspects of their job performance that do not involve driving may also be affected by these symptoms. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine estimates that 20 percent of commercial truck drivers suffer from obstructive sleep apnea. If the sleep apnea rule had been put into place, it may have identified these drivers by flagging certain at-risk health conditions. Drivers with these health conditions, such as diabetes or obesity, would have been required to attend an in-person sleep apnea assessment. After being identified, drivers with obstructive sleep apnea could have received continuous positive airway pressure devices to treat the condition. Instead of requiring at-risk commercial truck drivers to undergo screening, trucking companies and the Transportation Department's medical examiners will continue to decide whether to screen commercial drivers.

Trucking companies may decide that screening and treatment options are not worth the cost. Transportation Department medical examiners may also make mistakes and miss opportunities to test drivers with this condition. Unfortunately, this means that drivers could suffer from obstructive sleep apnea and not realize it until after they have caused an accident.

Can a Truck Accident Attorney Help if a Driver with Sleep Apnea injures me?

In some cases, trucking companies may knowingly allow drivers with dangerous health conditions to drive heavy trucks or vehicles. Trucking companies may enable these employees to drive despite risks to public safety. When drivers with these health conditions cause truck accidents, their employers may be held liable for any damages caused to survivors or their families. Drivers have driver qualification files (also called DQ files) that contain the results of the Transportation Department medical examination required to obtain a commercial driver’s license. The DQ file and other paperwork could be helpful evidence in establishing liability in a truck accident lawsuit. Injured? Contact the Texas truck accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC, to determine whether you have legal options to pursue damages against a trucking company or other parties.

Do Rear Guards Prevent Truck Underride Accidents?

Truck accidents are a devastating force of destruction on roads across the country. However, truck underride accidents are particularly gruesome and much more likely to result in fatalities. An underride accident occurs when a vehicle is forced underneath the truck’s cabin. During these accidents, occupants in passenger vehicles can be decapitated and killed. This may be true even in cases where collisions occur at low speeds. Heavy truck trailers are required by law to use rear guards (also called underride guards) to prevent this type of accident. These are metal barriers that hang underneath the back of the trailer.

According to a 2013 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), strong underride guards can be effective at preventing vehicles from being forced under high-riding heavy truck trailers. Unfortunately, many semi-truck trailers in the United States do not have “strong” underride guards. Weak underride guards can fail to prevent fatalities. In addition, a vehicle hitting the side of an underride guard may still be demolished. According to the IIHS study, underride guards are much less effective at preventing fatalities when vehicles hit guards further to the right or left.

Motor vehicle safety advocates and organizations, such as the IIHS, have petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to strengthen underride guard standards. The federal standards regulating the strength of underride guards have not been updated since 1996. Semi-trucks in the United States also do not require side underride guards. In Europe and Japan, side underride guards are used to help prevent fatalities when vehicles slide underneath the side of trailers. There are many truck accidents in the US involving side underride crashes. For example, the Tesla vehicle that crashed last year while Autopilot was turned on slid underneath the side of a tractor-trailer. The vehicle’s occupant, a former Navy SEAL, died in the accident. This is only one example. NHTSA estimates that 200 side underride accidents occur in the US each year.

Can Negligence Cause an Underride Accident?

In some cases, trucking companies fail to maintain truck underride guards. These guards may also contain defects that can reduce their effectiveness during an accident. In such cases, injured vehicle occupants or their loved ones may be able to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the underride guard or the trucking company. Lawsuits can not only help prevent future instances of these companies using or releasing unsafe underride guards, but they can also help provide financial resources for costs associated with catastrophic injuries or wrongful death. Injured in an accident with a commercial truck or 18-wheeler? Contact the Texas truck accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC, to help you hold commercial carriers and auto parts manufacturers accountable for causing catastrophic injuries or wrongful death.

Can Electronic Logging Devices Reduce Truck Accidents?

Federal and state hours-of-service rules help prevent truck accidents caused by fatigued driving. These rules set limits for how long intrastate and interstate truckers can drive. For example, interstate drivers operating property-carrying trucks that weigh 10,001 or more pounds cannot drive for more than 11 hours within a 14-hour shift. Truckers must record their hours of service compliance in paper or electronic logbooks. Information in the logbooks may include total driving hours, miles covered, and off-duty time. Roadside safety inspectors check logbooks to detect hours-of-service violations.

Employees working for these trucking companies may also check for hours-of-service violations. However, paper logbooks can be manipulated. Truckers can misrepresent how long they have driven during each 14-hour shift. Electronic logging devices (ELD) may help reduce instances of this problem. Unlike paper logbooks, an ELD records driving time information directly from the truck’s engine. An ELD can record engine hours and vehicle movement. Roadside safety inspectors could download driving time data to check for hours-of-service violations.

In 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) unveiled a rule requiring trucking companies to use ELDs. Unless Congress repeals or significantly alters this rule, it will go into effect on December 18. House Resolution 3282, also known as the ELD Extension Act of 2017, would delay the mandatory implementation of ELDs by 2 years. Some trucking companies already use ELDs because they find them to be more convenient and less expensive than paper logbooks. In fact, the FMCSA has argued that ELDs can eliminate $1 billion in paperwork costs for trucking companies and law enforcement.

Can Logbooks Be Used During a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Information contained in paper or electronic logbooks may also be valuable evidence during a truck accident case. Many commercial trucks in operation also use electronic control modules (ECMs) that record various data about the trucks. For example, an ECM may record the vehicle’s highest speed or time driven. This data can also be used in conjunction with information in logbooks to catch discrepancies. Data from an ECM can also be helpful during a truck accident lawsuit, mainly when used in conjunction with other evidence.

However, trucking companies may spoil ECM data after an accident to shed themselves of any liability. It is essential to hire an attorney immediately after a truck accident to prevent the spoliation of evidence. Contact the Texas truck accident attorneys at Mike Love & Associates, LLC. We have firsthand experience with the trucking industry's business practices. If you or a loved one suffered harm during a truck accident, our attorneys can help you discover whether you have legal options to seek damages.