Tire Failure
Posted on 05. Sep, 2009 by Admin.
Tires can fail due to under-inflation, over-inflation and overloading. Under-inflated tires cause the tires to expand and contract, which creates heat. When this heat is added to the heat caused by friction with the road, a tire can “blow out” or explode. On the other hand, over-inflated tires do not allow for flexing which is required to handle issues like potholes or road debris. Sometimes, tires are intentionally over-inflated to reduce friction with the road which in turn lowers fuel costs.
Tires have a limit for how much weight can be placed on them. Overloading the tires can have the same effects as over-inflation. In addition to being inflexible, the shape of the tire is affected, which results in excessive wear and poor handling capabilities.
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Truck Accident Lawyers – Drivers that Use Drugs or Alcohol
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Truck DWI and Driver Fatigue
Posted on 02. Sep, 2009 by Admin.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has enacted regulations concerning limits to the Hours-Of-Service that truck drivers may drive. Anyone who drives a commercial motor vehicle must comply with these regulations.
Fatigue is a major cause of truck accidents. The effects of drowsiness have been shown to be as dangerous as being under the influence of alcohol. The Department of Transportation estimates that 755 deaths and 19,705 injuries result from fatigued drivers of all kinds of vehicles each year.
As of January 4th, 2004 the Hours-Of-Service rules say that a truck driver may not drive:
- More than 11 hours, after 10 hours of off-duty time
- Beyond the 14th hour after coming on-duty, following 10 hours of off-duty time
- After 60(or 70) hours on-duty in 7(or
consecutive days
The 7 or 8 consecutive day period is reset after 34 consecutive hours of off-duty time.
Truck drivers are often expected to adhere to unreasonable delivery schedules by the companies they work for or they are paid by the miles that they drive. They are also subjected to many hours of uncompensated work each week as they wait on loading docks. This uncompensated time does count toward their on-duty time. This forces many of them to drive for unreasonable hours to make up for lost time.
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Truck Accidents and Negligence
Posted on 28. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2001 there were 429,000 large trucks involved in traffic crashes in the United States. A large truck is defined as having a gross vehicle weight over 10,000 pounds. 4,793 large trucks were involved in fatal crashes, and a total of 5,082 people died and 131,000 people were injured in those crashes. When there is a truck accident involving a large truck, both the driver and the owner of the truck can face negligence claims.
Employer Negligence
Truck accidents are different than other motor vehicle accidents because the semi truck or tractor-trailer is generally operated by someone who is not the owner of the truck. Some truck accidents can be caused by employer negligence.
Some common forms of employer negligence include:
- Failure to maintain the vehicle
- Failure to train employees
- Lack of licensing or testing of operators
- Not performing background checks on employees
- Continuing to use operators that have a record of unsafe driving
There are federal laws in place that require truck companies to properly maintain their vehicles and to perform routine checks on the condition of the vehicle. There are also laws regarding the length of time a driver can remain behind the wheel, but some trucking companies push their drivers to ignore those laws by subjecting them to unreasonable delivery schedules.
Driver Negligence
Sometimes truck accidents are caused by the driver making a mistake or consciously breaking the law. When the accident is caused by driver negligence the driver can be held accountable for the injuries and property damage they have caused.
Some examples of driver negligence include:
- Driving without proper licenses or certification
- Speeding
- Concealing long hours by keeping duplicate log books
- Using drugs to overcome fatigue
- Not ensuring that the load they are hauling is properly secured
Determining who and what is at fault in a large truck accident is not an easy task. Additionally, trucking companies have been known to send representatives to the scene of an accident to speak to the people involved in the accident when they are most vulnerable and more likely to sign away their rights. There is a statute of limitations on how long you can wait to file a negligence claim against the driver and the trucking company.
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact a truck accident attorney in your local area for more information about truck accidents.
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Houston Truck Accident Lawyers and Personal Injury Claims against the Government
Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
As you might imagine, personal injury claims against the government comprise a sticky type of situation for most personal injury attorneys. Whether your personal injury is the result of negligence on the behalf of the federal, state, or local government, suing any government entity is not a simple task. When filing a personal injury claim against the government, there is a specific and strict set of guidelines and procedures that must be followed. Simply put, if your personal injury claim is not filed correctly, then the claim will not be allowed in court.
Filing Requirements for Government Personal Injury Claims
Like with most types of personal injury claims, a personal injury claim against a government entity can only be filed within a specific period of time. This timeframe is called the statute of limitations, and the length of time that it encompasses can vary greatly from state to state – being as long as several years in some states, but typically averaging around two years. After the statute of limitations has passed for you to file your personal injury government claim, you lose your rights to file. With cases involving personal injury against the government, however, special rules apply. If you have been wronged, harmed, or injured and a government entity is liable or at fault, you typically have around sixty days to file what is known as a “notice of claim”. Being awarded compensation if a notice of claim is not filed within sixty days is improbable. In addition, many government entities are considered to be immune from being held liable in personal injury lawsuits. The government has essentially waived legal liability in most instances. So while it is possible to bring about a personal injury lawsuit or claim against the government, the claim must be filed timely and appropriate to have a shot at being successful.
What You Should Do Now
If you have been injured and you feel that you have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit, and the government or a government employee or representative is liable or responsible, it is important to act immediately. Your first step should be to contact a reputable personal injury lawyer who has expertise in dealing with personal injury claims against the government. Because of the sixty day time limit on filing a notice of claim, acting within the first day or two of injury is important to get “the ball rolling” in your favor. This notice of claim is your personal injury attorney’s way of alerting the government that you have received an injury, and that you believe them to be responsible. A notice of claim is typically sent to all of the government agencies that could be responsible for your injury, even if you don’t sue them all. This opens up the opportunity for the government entity to respond to the notice before an actual personal injury lawsuit is filed. The government will then accept the claim or deny it; in most cases an official notice of denial will be issued and your personal injury lawyer will proceed to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.
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Medical Malpractice Injury Claims
Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
Whenever people envision a professional adapting to a set of standardized operating procedures regarding how they do their work, most often, physicians spring to mind. By chance if a physician, nurse or any other member of the hospital staff neglects to abide by the exact operations, the lives of their patients can be jeopardized. Malpractice in the medical field is something patients should never have to worry about, but they do more so because of the rise in malpractice lawsuits in recent years. It possibly can be a minor fault, which in turn makes the patient sick or possibly kill them.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim
Malpractice suits are not just about people anticipating to make a fast buck. Almost all personal injury medical claims are quite severe. Every time personal injury lawyers get involved in a potential case, there must have been a life-threatening violation in how a medical doctor, nurse, or hospital has treated the patient. In a few lawsuits it has been as drastic as someone losing their life. When you are treated by a surgeon or a doctor and have been harmed by them as a consequence of them diverting away from the set medical practices, you quite possibly could have a legitimate injury claim. If you have a loved one or family member that has passed away because of the fault of second-rate care by a doctor or at a hospital, you most definitely have a lawsuit.
Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer to Handle Medical Malpractice
It is not, however, as simple as asking the doctor or staff to hand over their money. You must first retain services of an experienced licensed lawyer. Personal injury lawyers are extremely well versed in the particular personal injury laws of the state that they are licensed in, and know precisely to what degree a medical professional can ultimately be held liable for in such a case. Even if you think that you know how the laws for personal injury work, you still need a lawyer. You need a lawyer for the basic reason that the physician or the hospital’s insurance will have several qualified lawyers who will be resolved to prove to the courts that their client was following standardized medical procedures. In cases of gross negligence, many physicians and hospitals will more than likely want to settle out of court in order to avoid the influx of bad publicity. Your qualified personal injury attorney will advise you on the approximate amount of money that you should receive for a settlement and finalize the paperwork. Insurance for medical malpractice is designed to protect nursing staff, hospitals, and doctors from medical injury claims. If by chance, the doctor let their insurance expire, the lawyer for the injured party can and will go after the physician’s assets. Having monetary reimbursement may not help you feel better if you have been seriously injured, but is most certainly will make the medical community stand up and take notice to the guilty party. A medical malpractice lawsuit could end up costing the doctor his or her medical license if it was shown that he or she ignorantly or intentionally injured you.
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New Jersey Turnpike i95 Truck Accident w/Fire 2/2/2009
Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
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Scarry truck crash – Disastrous highway accident caught on tape
Posted on 15. Aug, 2009 by Admin.
