If you have been injured in an accident
involving a tractor trailer, you should consult with an attorney immediately.
The insurance company for the carrier will conduct a thorough investigation of
the accident and will be looking for any way to avoid liability for the
accident. Therefore, it is important that the accident scene be preserved and
that you have an accident reconstructionist also examine the scene as soon as
possible.
What evidence must be secured after
an accident?
Secure all evidence that may otherwise
be lost, destroyed or unavailable such as the driver's log book, (also know as
"record of duty status") to document the number of hours the driver
has operated the truck, been off duty, and been on duty but not driving. Many
motor carriers use electronic and satellite technology to monitor drivers'
hours, speed of the vehicle, stops, maintenance, etc. This information must be
preserved because it can be essential to the case.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety
Regulations require the drivers to file records with the motor carrier within
thirteen (13) days of competing the approved log. The driver's home terminal
must keep the log book until the twentieth day of the next calendar month. The
book is then forwarded to the carrier's principle place of business and retained
for six months.
Immediately after an accident, the
representatives of the motor carrier and its reconstruction expert will secure
the vehicle and perform a background investigation and accident reconstruction.
Critical evidence inside the truck,
including beer cans, medication, cellular phones, newspapers, duplicate log
books are any evidence which may be removed from the truck.
The truck may be sold for salvage and
destroyed for an attorney's consultant about members of the victim's family to
protect their interest. Therefore advise the motor carrier not to destroy the
truck because you will need your expert to inspect it.
In a motor vehicle accident involving a
tractor trailer, there is a possibility of third party liability. For example,
the company that loaded the trailer may be liable for negligent loading or
configuring the trailer if the contents shift and cause the vehicle to lose
control or the contents fall on someone while unloading it.
Driver fatigue and unrealistic
schedules are critical factors in driver negligence and account for an estimated
750 deaths and 20,000 injuries each year. The current hours of service rules for
commercial truck drivers is to drive a maximum of ten hours straight and to rest
a minimum of eight hours until reaching sixty hours in a seven day period or
seventy hours in an eight day period. This permits as much as sixteen hours of
driving in any twenty-four hour period on an eighteen hour drive/rest schedule.
Drivers are not paid for any
non-driving work. Therefore if the driver wants to be paid their legal maximum
of seventy hours of work they are allowed to perform each week, they must work
more than seventy hours. Drivers are routinely required to unload and load at
shippers' warehouses and then are expected to driver for ten hours.
9032 Stone Walk Pl. Germantown, TN. 38138 (901)759-3489