Woodland Hills Trucking Accident Attorney Discusses Fatigue Driving Truck Accidents
The increased size and weight of a truck often bear significantly on the nature and extent of personal injuries suffered in a collision between a truck and car or other vehicle. If you have been injured in such an accident, you know all too well the damage wrought and the time, expense, and personal suffering it will take to get back to the position you were in prior to the accident. Fortunately, California law provides recourse for personal injury victims to seek legal damages in the form of a monetary judgment against the person(s) responsible for the harms inflicted. If you have been involved in a truck accident, contact a Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney from Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation right away.
Types of Damages Available to Truck Accident Personal Injury Victims
While in some rare case a truck accident is caused by intentionally wrongful conduct, negligence is a far more common source. A breach of a duty owed that actually causes damages, negligence is what is termed in legal parlance a “tort.” Under California tort law, tort victims are eligible to sue for money damages in one of the state’s civil courts. In a personal injury suit against a truck driver and/or the driver’s employer, the governing theory of damages is commonly “expectation.” Under this theory, an award of money damages is designed to put the victim in the position he or she would have been in but for the negligence, collision, and harms sustained.
In a truck accident, expectation damages must account for medical bills, lost income due to missed work, and pain and suffering. With regard to medical bills, these costs may be substantial, both in the short- and long-term – especially if a disability has been suffered, or if multiple surgeries and extensive rehabilitation are required. The same is true of lost income due to missed work, which may extend well into the future if injuries suffered in a truck accident have limited or altogether foreclosed one’s ability to earn a living. Pain and suffering, while more abstract than medical bills and lost income, may be established by evidence, testimony, and parallels made to existing legal precedent.
A Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney from Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation will be able to evaluate your case and determine what type of damage you may be entitled to for the losses your injuries have caused you to suffer.
Let a Woodland Hills Trucking Accident Attorney Help You
To pursue the remedies available to you under California law, it is imperative that you comply with all filing requirements and formalities in a timely fashion. As you recover from your injuries and look to the future, rely on an experienced Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney from Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation for assistance.
Fatigue Driving Truck Accidents
Being a truck driver on the road usually means being on the road for long hours, driving hundreds of miles at a time. Although there are federal regulations which stipulate how many hours truck drivers should be on the road per day and how many days in a row they can drive, there are still a high number of fatigued driving truck accidents that occur every day, often causing deaths and catastrophic injuries.
The following is a brief overview of fatigued truck driving crashes. For more detailed information, contact a trucking accident attorney in Woodland Hills.
Why do fatigued driving crashes occur?
There are approximately 1,000 people who lose their lives every year in truck accidents caused by fatigued drivers and another 20,000 injured. There are several reasons why fatigued driving accidents occur, including:
- Too many hours driving on the road
- Not getting enough sleep
- Working too many hours loading or unloading freight
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Suffer from sleep apnea
Many truck drivers drink heavily-caffeinated drinks and/or take stimulants in order to stay awake through the long hours on the road. Many times these stimulants mask just how exhausted the driver really is and then they get behind the wheel of a monster vehicle that is suddenly driverless when the truck driver falls asleep at the wheel.
How many hours are truck drivers allowed to drive?
The federal agency that oversees the trucking industry, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) has set the following regulations for how many hours truck drivers are allowed to operate:
- Truck drivers are only allowed to operate their vehicles on the road a total of 11 consecutive hours. They are then required to take a mandatory of at least 10 hours.
- The maximum number of combined hours a truck driver can work is 14 hours, broken up with driving and non-driving duties.
- Truck drivers are allowed to work a maximum of 60 to 70 hours in seven to eight consecutive days.
They are required to take at least 34 hours off before the clock can be restarted.
How do truck drivers get around the restrictive regulations?
Even though there are strict regulations about how long truck drivers can stay on the road, many drivers ignore those rules and the results can be horrific. The DOT requires that all drivers keep a log of their hours, however, many drivers lie and keep fraudulent records, claiming they took rest periods when they actually didn’t.
Truck drivers are not the only ones responsible for false records. As a Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney can attest, the companies they work for are also complicit in the falsifying records by drivers. Many companies are well aware this goes on, but do nothing to stop it. In fact, it is the pressure companies put on drivers, creating unrealistic delivery schedules that drivers cannot meet if they actually obey the law that is often behind the falsifying of records.
Trucking companies which have shown poor compliance with these regulations are now required to have electronic on board recorders (EBQR) for drivers to log their hours instead of paper logbooks, which are the norm. This makes it impossible to lie about driving hours. A Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney can use these records as evidence in a truck accident injury claim.
Woodland Hills Trucking Accident Attorney
Victims of commercial truck accidents may choose to consult with a trucking accident attorney from Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation to fight for their injury compensation. Our law firm has been working with the public and representing clients in the court of law since opening our doors. Enduring an injury due to the poor driving of another person can result in drastic financial damages, in addition to pain and frequent hospital visits. We strive to help in leading our clients through the road of recovery and retribution for their losses. You can trust we have only the best of intentions for every person who comes us to with an injury, due to no fault of their own.
Immediately following an accident, a person may wonder who is responsible and what is supposed to happen next. Firstly, tending to you and receiving medical treatment is the best first step. Even if you feel well enough, schedule an appointment with your doctor. A trucking accident lawyer at Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation may even request to communicate with your doctor to confirm you are progressing during treatment.
Why You Need to See Your Doctor
– Sometimes in the midst of shock, your body does not reveal all injuries right away.
– Being able to provide a medical assessment from a professional practitioner will also increase your chances of being awarded compensation.
– We will need proof of your injuries, and a description from your doctor is a great way to make your claims legitimate.
– Any injuries that are a direct result from the accident may not be covered in the future if you do not list them in your original claim.
– Back and neck injuries may not be felt at their most severe until months or years later, so it is important your doctor can establish a long-term chiropractic or treatment plan.
Any company that owns the truck involved in the accident may be responsible for covering the costs if it can be proven their driver was the one at fault. Insurance companies will do anything possible to not lose money because of the accident. By hiring a trucking accident attorney from Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation, you have a professional who can ensure your claim is taken seriously and you are not taken advantage of during the process. Do not submit a verbal or written testimony of the incident to your insurance company until speaking with your attorney.
Give us a call today to receive your first free consultation with a trucking accident attorney at Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law Corporation. Finding the right Woodland Hills trucking accident attorney to oversee your case is crucial, and we hope you find comfort and reliability in our services.