East Brunswick Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck Accident Attorney in East Brunswick

Semis, tractor trailers and other large commercial vehicles have long been a serious threat to motorists on the road. But fatal collisions increased by more than 30 percent from 2010 to 2020, claiming an average of nearly 5,000 lives per year and seriously injuring more than 100,000 motorists.

But the risks have reached epidemic levels in recent years for a number of reasons:

• The internet economy has put more delivery vehicles onto side streets and into neighborhoods never meant to accommodate such traffic.
• A nationwide shortage of truck drivers has placed increasing demand on an aging workforce and prompted trucking companies to hire underqualified drivers and/or offer their own training programs.
• U.S. regulators continue to fall behind many developed nations when it comes to mandating speed-limiters, onboard data recorders, mandatory side-guards, and improved rear underride guards. Regulators have even eased existing hours-of-service regulations and allowed younger over-the-road truck drivers to cross state lines in an attempt to address the critical shortage of professional truck drivers.

Commercial trucking collisions that result in serious or fatal injury almost always victimize the occupants of involved passenger vehicles. More than half of all collisions involving large trucks occur on rural or state routes or on city streets, not on an Interstate highway. Tractor-trailers in the United States can legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds, compared to 3,500 pounds for the average passenger vehicle. Many roads are not designed for the weight, and size of the large number of trucks on the road. Occupants of passenger vehicles don’t stand a chance in a collision.

Trucking Accident Injury Claims

Serious and fatal collisions involving semis, tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles are among the most complex claims a New Jersey personal injury or wrongful death law firm can handle. Your chosen East Brunswick trucking accident lawyer must have extensive knowledge of state and federal laws governing interstate trucking and the experience and resources to pursue complex claims against some of the nation’s largest trucking companies and their insurance companies and defense attorneys.

In addition to state traffic laws, and laws specific to tractor-trailers and other large commercial vehicles, truck drivers and trucking companies must comply with a host of federal rules, including:

• Distracted driving: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration prohibits texting and use of hand-held mobile phones while operating a commercial vehicle used in interstate commerce. This means truck drivers are prohibited from being distracted by cell phones, regardless of state law.
• Hours of Service: Drivers are limited to 60 hours a week behind the wheel and 70 hours during any eight-day period. Drivers are limited to 11 hours of drive time and must take a 30-minute break after 8-hours.
• Cargo: Drivers face weight limitations and other limitations specific to certain types of cargo, including hazardous materials.
• Truck maintenance: The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires documentation for a host of issues related to truck maintenance, including repairs, service schedules and maintenance checklists.

Thorough investigation of all of the facts and circumstances involving a collision with a commercial truck is best done as soon as possible after a crash. Reaching out to an experienced New Jersey trucking accident attorney can best permit review of the accident scene and compliance with state and federal regulations.

Trucking Accident Liability

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Large Truck Causation Study reveals the three most common critical events that result in trucking collisions:

• Running out of the travel lane or off the road.
• Loss of control due to traveling too fast for conditions, shifting cargo, mechanical failure and poor road conditions.
• Colliding with the rear of another vehicle.

However, the contributing factors are even more important, and offer insight into why it’s so important to have an experienced New Jersey trucking accident attorney review all of the facts and circumstances of an accident as soon as possible after an accident occurs:

• Brake problems
• Congestion from a previous crash
• Prescription drug use
• Traveling too fast for conditions
• Unfamiliarity with roadway
• Road problems
• Failure to obey traffic control devices
• Over-the-counter drug use
• Inadequate surveillance (distraction)
• Fatigue

While determining all of the contributing factors is critical when building a case for damages in the wake of a serious or fatal trucking collision, identifying all of the parties responsible is equally critical, and often even more challenging. These may include:

• Truck driver
• Trucking company
• Owner of the tractor or trailer
• Shipping company
• Owner of the cargo
• Truck maintenance contractors
• Equipment leasing company
• LLCs or other corporate entities

Trucking companies have spent decades mitigating the risks and doing everything possible to reduce liability for serious and fatal collisions, which are the leading operational and financial risk to their businesses. These companies use a wide variety of complex tactics, including hiring drivers as independent contractors, hiring third parties to perform maintenance services, leasing and renting trucks and trailers, and operating under numerous limited liability corporations and other corporate identities to protect assets and reduce financial exposure in the wake of serious and fatal accidents. They are insured by some of the world’s largest insurance carriers and defended by leading law firms with decades of experience.

Your chosen New Jersey truck accident law firm must have the knowledge and experience to thoroughly investigate your case and determine all applicable state and federal laws and rules that apply, as well as all factors of causation. Your firm must have the resources to determine all of the parties responsible and to build a comprehensive case for damages, including lost wages, medical bills, and rehabilitation, as well as determining the likelihood of future medical complications or disability and non-economic damages like pain and suffering.

Once armed with these facts, your chosen firm must have a reputation for taking cases to trial and be prepared to do so. Only then will insurance companies and defense firms be prepared to negotiate in good faith.

If you have been injured call Mayo Law for a free and confidential consultation to discuss your rights at 888-MAYOLAW.