In the United States, semi-truck accidents are devastatingly common. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):
- There are approximately 400,000 truck accidents in the U.S. every year.
- Approximately 61% of all fatal crashes occurred in rural areas, with 27% occurring on interstate highways.
- Truck accidents account for over 6.5% of all crashes that occur in this country.
- An estimated 28% result in injuries, while another 11% are fatal.
Large vehicles like semi-trucks can be unpredictable and cause major damage to cars, due to their size and weight.
Many of these accidents occur due to truck drivers not paying attention to the road, or not adjusting their speed accordingly to road conditions. Other causes of truck accidents include defective vehicles, and unqualified, improperly trained, or even intoxicated drivers.
Below, we outline the complexities of semi-truck accidents in a personal injury case and how you can get the compensation you deserve with the help of a semi truck accident lawyer.
Who’s Liable: The Driver or the Company?
Truck accidents can be quite complicated, as the advertising banners on trucks may not reveal who the actual owners of these vehicles are.
In other words, the driver of the truck typically doesn’t own the vehicle they drive. Truck drivers usually work for larger companies, who can (and should) be held liable for their driver’s negligence.
In addition, many truck drivers lease their trucks to large shipping companies, making the lessee liable for driver negligence. Additionally, the trailers that are pulled by these large vehicles are sometimes owned by yet another company.
This is why compared to car accidents, semi-truck accidents can be complicated to navigate.
However, a semi truck accident lawyer can navigate this process clearly—and recover the maximum amount for those injured due to a driver or company’s negligence.
Considering Interstate Laws and Regulations
In addition to ownership issues, state and federal regulators are constantly creating and amending rules that trucking companies and their drivers must follow, in regard to the delivery of goods and merchandise across the U.S.—and specifically in the state of Michigan.
Breaching these rules can subject the public to harm. Therefore, truck drivers’ speed should be constantly monitored, as well as limiting the number of hours they spend driving in a twenty-four hour period.
Violating these guidelines can be evidence of negligence on their part, and even the fault of the company they drive for. Internal computer programs and GPS satellite tracking are now standard in the trucking industry.
Obtaining these records is vital in proving one’s case, and something your personal injury lawyer should do immediately.
Call a Semi Truck Accident Lawyer Today
Our team of experienced Michigan truck accident lawyers can help you gather the evidence necessary to obtain the compensation you deserve for your injuries, or the death suffered by loved ones.
Call today for a free, no-commitment consultation if you or a family member is the victim of a truck accident. Remember, you pay us nothing until we recover compensation for you!