Truck Accident Lawyers St. Louis - Truck Accident Attorney

James M. Hoffmann

Truck Accident Facts

The Dangers of an Overloaded Tractor Trailer

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If you have been involved in an accident involving a tractor-trailer, every aspect of the accident must be examined closely to assign blame and effectively demand compensation.

Companies of all sizes depend on commercial trucks to move their products around the country. Unfortunately, when these trucks are overloaded and used improperly, they can be extremely dangerous on the road.

When a tractor-trailer is overloaded, they create many potential hazards, ranging from longer stopping distances to load imbalance. While federal laws are in place to control commercial vehicles’ weight limits, many trucking companies push these limits. When an overweight truck is involved in an accident, the company or owner may be legally negligent and responsible for any damage caused.

Call The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann at (314) 316-4300!

What is an Overloaded Truck?

The United States Federal Highway Administration strictly controls the maximum weight limits for all commercial vehicles. For example, the weight limit for a single-axle truck is 20,000 pounds. For dual-axle trucks, the weight limit increases to 34,000 pounds.

Overloaded Trucks – The Potential Dangers

The federal laws exist for a reason. The Department of Transportation calculates the forces that affect when a truck travels at a certain speed. Then, they calculate the distance needed for that truck to come to a full stop. This calculation depends on the truck weighing an appropriate amount. When a truck exceeds the maximum weight, it takes longer for the truck to stop. When a truck driver finds him or herself in an emergency situation and has to come to a sudden halt, the result can be catastrophic.

Also, a truck that exceeds the legal weight limits can struggle to navigate curves properly. When a truck carrying an excess load goes around a curve, it may be top-heavy and can tip over.

The Legal Consequences

When two or more vehicles are involved in a collision, the drivers’ actions are taken into consideration when determining who is at fault. However, when one of the drivers violates the law, this changes the situation.

If one of the parties caused an accident because they violated a law intended to prevent an accident, the law would assume the violator as negligent.

The negligent party may be required to compensate injured plaintiffs for all their damages. The compensation would include medical costs as well as any financial and emotional damages resulting from the accident.

St. Louis Truck Accident Attorneys

If you have been involved in an accident involving a tractor-trailer, every aspect of the accident must be examined closely to assign blame and effectively demand compensation.

Being involved in an accident involving a commercial truck can have catastrophic effects on your life. On top of your physical injuries and damage to your vehicle, you may experience financial losses or mental anguish.

At The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann, we will examine all of your case’s facts to determine which course of action will lead to the best chance for a positive outcome.

Call The Law Office of James M. Hoffmann at (314) 316-4300!

What are some of the Most Common Reasons Why Tractor Trailer Accidents Occur?

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For more than 25 years we have been helping accident victims receive the benefits they need and deserve.

Each year thousands of people die in accidents involving tractor trailers. A majority of the victims are people in passenger vehicles in which they are not equipped to withstand that type of collision. When a tractor trailer is fully loaded, it can weigh up to 40 times as much as the average passenger vehicle. Therefore, just a simple mistake can lead to an accident causing serious and even fatal injuries.

What are the Most Common Reasons Why Truck Accidents Occur?

There are a number of factors that contribute to truck accidents. Most truck accidents result from driver error on the part of the truck driver. Some of the most common causes of this are:

  • Reckless Driving – When a truck driver speeds or fails to follow traffic laws, it puts others in danger. Many accidents are the result of excessive speed combined with unsafe lane changes. Truckers often follow too closely to smaller passenger vehicles, which creates a very unsafe driving environment.
  • Driver fatigue – The NHTSA has warned people about the seriousness of driver fatigue, especially for truck drivers. In fact, they report that drowsy driving killed 795 people in 2017. Because truckers often drive thousands of miles in a relatively short period of time, they are very susceptible to fatigue.
  • Improper Maintenance – Federal regulations are in place which require semis to be kept in good condition. This is because when the parts and components of trucks aren’t properly maintained, it leads to serious accidents. Trucking companies are required to keep up with these regulations, but sometimes they fail to do so.
  • Distracted Driving – A distracted driver is one that operates their vehicle while their vision, hands, or concentration is off the vehicle and task of driving. Using a cell phone while driving is the most common distraction, but others include eating, drinking, fiddling with the radio, and talking to other passengers. Because truckers drive long hours, they may engage in any of these habits to stay awake. While they may be trying to avoid drowsy driving, they may be doing something else that is just as dangerous.
  • Substance Abuse – Many truck driver abuse drugs and alcohol to cope with their lifestyle and its demands. Unfortunately, this leads to serious consequences for them and for those they share the road with.
  • Improper Loading – When a semi-truck is not loaded correctly, it can result in the truck jack-knifing or being difficult to maneuver. If the truck is loaded too quickly or if the workers are inexperienced or not properly trained, this can lead to it being loaded incorrectly. In this case, the trucking company may be liable for your accident.

Get Help from a St. Louis Truck Accident Lawyer

There are so many potential causes of trucks accidents. As a result, these cases are complex and contentious. The trucking industry is very tricky to go up against. They and their insurance companies will attempt to deny responsibility for the accident and may offer to settle for much less than they should.

To make sure that your rights are fully protected, contact the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann as soon as possible. For more than 25 years we have been helping accident victims receive the benefits they need and deserve.

When Trucking Company Negligence Leads to a Truck Accident

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A trucking company may be held legally liable for the accidents, injuries, and costs that result from engaging in any of these acts.

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Each year there are more than 5,000 fatalities as a result of truck accidents. In addition, 150,000 people are seriously injured. A negligent trucking company is often to blame for causing the accident. Litigating a truck accident case for the victims is almost always complicated because there can be a number of different factors to consider. The truck driver, loading company, trucking company, or maintenance company may be liable for the accident.

If you or a loved one have been involved in a truck accident, you no doubt having many questions concerning your case. At the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann, we will fight to make sure that the trucking company is held responsible when it is their fault.

Trucking Company Negligence

What are some of the ways that a trucking company could be responsible for an accident? Trucking company negligence is more of a “behind the scenes” type of negligence, as this type of carelessness happens throughout the process of running a company. Some common examples of this include:

  • Negligent hiring practices
  • Hours of service violations
  • Failure to maintain vehicles properly
  • Failure to train employees

A trucking company may be held legally liable for any accidents, injuries, and costs that result from engaging in any of these acts. Determining this fault can be very difficult so what should you do?

Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one have been involved in a truck accident contact the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann. Trust our St. Louis truck accident lawyers to work to make sure trucking companies are held responsible for their failure to protect your safety.

Our attorneys have handled very complicated truck accident cases. We have experience with victims who have sustained severe injuries such as head, neck, spinal cord, and back injuries. We have helped family members who have lost a loved one receive the financial compensation they may desperately need after suffering such a devastating loss.

Call us today at (314) 361-4242 or fill out our online case evaluation form to request a free consultation.

What Makes a Collision with a Large Truck Different?

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Large commercial trucks make up only 3% of the vehicles occupying U.S. roadways, but accidents with them are the cause of 12% of highway fatalities.

Catastrophic Injury Attorney

Consider the weight and size of an 18 wheeler and how much time it takes for them to come to a stop compared with a typical passenger car. Since large trucks pose such a threat to drivers, the federal government has imposed its own set of rules and guidelines on operating one.

An interstate truck driver is required by federal law to keep a log of his driving activities and sleep hours. He must not drive more than 14 total hours in a day and he is required a 10 hour rest before being allowed to drive again. In an attempt to meet a deadline, a driver may exceed those limits and put the lives of other motorists in jeopardy. Sleep deprivation and over-tiredness is a leading cause of accidents involving large commercial vehicles. A Missouri truck accident attorney will be sure to do a thorough investigation of the accident and will work with an accident reconstruction expert.

Truck Accident Investigation

In Missouri a truck driver was found liable for the permanent disabilities of a 53-year-old man. Travel logs showed that he had surpassed the maximum amount of hours allowed in a given week. The judge in this bench trial awarded the man and his wife over $18 million for the drivers’ negligent and reckless driving behavior. The family of another Missouri man was awarded a $7 million judgment by a federal jury. Once again fatigue was found to be the underlying cause of the accident as the offending driver had also exceeded the amount of hours allowed to drive consecutively.

The weight of a commercial vehicle is massive and can cause injuries that are particularly severe and require months of hospitalization, multiple surgeries and years of on-going therapy and hospice care. Paralysis and brain injury are common injuries as well as loss of limbs and organ traumas. Death of a driver or passenger in a car hit by a truck is seen more often than those hit by another vehicle. The family of these victims may also be entitled to compensation from the offending truck.

Federal guidelines for the trucking industry also dictate procedures for maintaining a commercial vehicle. Routine inspections are mandatory and logs of these must be kept much like the required time logs. Failure of a Missouri garbage truck company to properly maintain the brakes on one of its vehicles resulted in a tragic accident that killed a passenger and left the driver and another passenger with brain injuries and multi system trauma. That case was settled for $3.2 million.

Truck Accident Lawyers

Most commercial trucks are owned by large corporations who will try and settle your claim for compensation quickly. Their interest lies in protecting their company and driver, not in what may be best for you. It is imperative that you ignore any such offer until you are able to confer with a qualified Missouri truck accident lawyer. They will want to review all of your medical records and investigate the collision before entertaining any such offers from the trucking company.

To speak with a truck accident lawyer at the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann, call us at (314) 361-4300 or fill out our online contact form.

Increasing Number of Missouri Big Rig Accidents

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From 2010 to 2011 the number of deaths from big rig accidents on Missouri roads has been increasing.

While 2010 saw 105 deaths from commercial truck accidents, in 2011 the number was increased to 120. The trucking industry in the U.S. is huge and Missouri sees a lot of those semis and big rigs passing through. These vehicles can be extremely dangerous when not driven with an appropriate amount of care and caution due to their immense size and weight.

Drivers of passenger vehicles who find themselves sharing the road with these big rigs should always exercise caution, but truck drivers have an even bigger responsibility to stay safe and protect other drivers. Trucking is a heavily regulated industry that dictates protocols that trucking companies and their drivers must follow. Regulations regarding the number of hours drivers could be behind the wheel were recently amended in order to decrease the likelihood that drivers were operating their big rigs while fatigued, which is a significant cause of accidents.

Even though the overall number of accidents decreased in 2011, according to the Missouri Highway Patrol, the number of commercial truck accidents increased. Captain Tim Hull of the Missouri Highway Patrol said that this increase could be attributed to the fact that multiple people can die in accidents involving trucks that weigh 80,000 pounds or more.

While this is very scary, it is better to take note of how to avoid an accident, than to hear that the majority of the accidents that happen are unavoidable.

Missouri is in the direct center of the country and is considered a “bridge state” by transportation companies. This is because highways and subsequently truck routes criss-cross and intersect in Missouri as the trucks make their way to their ultimate destinations.

Data from the Missouri Department of Transportation shows that Missouri has the 11th biggest interstate highway grid. In addition, there are more than 32,000 miles of state roads. Trucks make connections along the eastern state border where they can pick up freight from the rail lines that intersect with the roads. Interstate 70 links both Kansas City and St. Louis on opposite ends of the state, and is extremely busy.

Over a trillion dollars worth of freight passed through the state in 2001, according to a study done by the Department of Transportation. Since then, the industry has continued to grow. The majority of this freight was transported via truck. Farm and food products are some of the most commonly transported commodities hauled by trucks.

A study done several years later, in 2006, the NHTSA found that truck accidents are most likely to be fatal when there are three or more vehicles involved. Three-fourths  of truck accidents occur during the day. Many crashes are caused by tractor trailers that are either speeding or traveling at speeds that exceed safe levels due to the given conditions. Vehicles crossing over into trucks’ lanes are another common accident cause, as well as trucks that drift off the right side of the road.

St. Louis Truck Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident in Missouri, contact an experienced St. Louis truck accident attorney as soon as possible. It is important that you act quickly and discuss your case with an experienced attorney who has successfully handled truck accident cases. These accidents include many unique circumstances, require investigations, and evidence must be uncovered quickly in order to ensure that you will get the compensation you deserve. To speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer, call the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann at (314) 361-4300 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.

 

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Motorist Awarded in Tractor Trailer Accident That Resulted in a TBI

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Accidents that involve tractor trailers can be incredibly serious.

While the driver of the semi truck may walk away with minor injuries, drivers and passengers in smaller vehicles can sustain catastrophic injuries. And unfortunately, it is not uncommon for these accidents to result in death.

This is one of the many reasons why it is so important for trucking companies and their drivers to understand the gravity of the job that they do, and take all of the necessary actions to prevent accidents and keep other drivers safe. When drivers and their employers fail to do so they can be held liable for the injuries or wrongful death that occurs as a result of the accident.

One example of such an incident was a case in California in 2008. A jury awarded one motorist $12.2 million after he sustained a traumatic brain injury in an accident with a YRC tractor trailer on Interstate 15 in San Diego County. The man was driving a Chevrolet Metro that was struck by two wheels which came off the rear axle of the tractor trailer he was driving near. As the wheels hit his vehicle, the man, who was wearing a seat belt, struck his head hard against the roof of his car.

The accident caused injuries to the man’s neck, spine, back, and brain. He needed surgery on his neck, and will most likely suffer from chronic pain for the rest of his life. Before the accident he worked as an airplane mechanic, but lost his job because he was unable to perform necessary functions. Additionally, his brain, memory, ability to concentrate, or focus his attention, as well as his personality were all affected by the accident.

His resulting medical bills were in excess of $235,000 at the time of the trial, and were expected to eventually exceed $1.2 million.

The trucking company admitted their liability in causing the accident, but claimed that the man’s injuries were exaggerated and were actually caused by a condition unrelated to the accident, and this was the real reason for his neck surgery. Experts testified that the man did truly suffer from a brain injury and physicians who treated him verified that the injury significantly impacted his life. Still, throughout the trial the trucking company maintained that his traumatic brain injury was not real.

The jury, however, disagreed with the trucking company, finding that there was sufficient evidence to prove them wrong. They returned with a verdict for the plaintiff of $12.2 million. The jury recognized that the man’s ability to earn a living would be jeopardized because he could no longer do the work he was trained to do. For this reduction in wage earning capacity, medical care, pain and suffering, the jury awarded him the $12.2 million.

Missouri Truck Accidents

If you are injured in an accident with a large commercial vehicle, contact an experienced Missouri truck accident attorney at the Law Office of James M. Hoffmann. We will work to protect your rights and get you the compensation you deserve.

Contact us today regarding a free and private consultation.

 

 

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