Truck accidents are a huge problem in the State of Wyoming. The legal responsibility of truck drivers and their companies is similar to the rules for car accidents, but more responsibility is placed on truck drivers because the trucks they drive are so inherently dangerous. Some trucks weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. They can be very long and difficult to control or stop. There are a variety of rules that apply to truck drivers which don't apply to regular motorists. These rules are important to know before you start a truck driving negligence case.
Trucking companies only make money when the trucks are operating. This causes drivers to drive when the weather is bad, when they are tired and when the truck is overloaded. Drivers are frequently paid by the mile, which can result in them taking chances that most drivers would not take. Drivers are required to keep logbooks showing how long they have been in service. Getting these logs is vitally important to determine if a truck driver involved in an accident was driving too long and without sufficient rest.
We have handled cases where drivers were very poorly trained. In one case, the driver had been hired from a foreign country and did not speak English. He couldn't understand the weather reports or caution signs placed on the route warning of hazardous conditions. These people should not be driving big trucks on our highways. Some companies look the other way when drivers falsify their logs or fail to demonstrate competence in operating a big rig before they are turned loose on an unsuspecting public.
Most trucks are now equipped with ECM or Qualcom systems. These are similar to black boxes used in commercial aircraft. They can show the speed, RPM levels and braking distance, track the route and measure time in service before the crash. This can be vital information in evaluating whether the trucking company is at fault for an accident. After a wreck, the data from these black boxes is in the possession of the trucking company. Unless a specific request is made, this information may be destroyed.
The first thing that should be done in one of these cases is to demand in writing that the company maintain all data from the black box in the truck. This data need only be maintained for 6 months under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act, unless a demand that it be preserved is received within that time. If you have been involved in a wreck with a truck, you must act quickly to preserve this evidence. If the evidence does not help the trucking company in the case, you can be pretty sure it will be destroyed as soon as possible.
Truck drivers are also drug tested after wrecks. This testing may show the driver was under the influence of some illegal substance at the time of the wreck. Some drivers take illegal amphetamines to keep awake for long periods. Sometimes they have been drinking before the crash. This information is vital to evaluating their reaction time and ability to avoid the crash.
Weather is another huge factor in truck wrecks. Some trucking companies take a load to a destination and make return trips with empty trailers. With the wind in Wyoming, these trucks are much harder to handle. There are safe ways to avoid this problem such as putting weight in the trailers, but most companies don't like to do it because that uses too much fuel.
Trucks also make unusually wide turns. This is especially true if they are running with several trailers. When a truck moves into the right lane coming up to an intersection, that may mean that it is going to turn right. That may also mean it is going to turn left, but must make a wide swing to negotiate the turn based on the length of the rig. Trucks also have blind spots that do not allow a trucker to see all of the traffic in the immediate area. When an untrained driver tries to make one of these turns, he may miss a driver passing on the right causing an accident.
Truck accident cases usually result in severe injuries or death. In 97% of the cases, the truck driver is not the one that is injured or killed. The trucking companies are required to maintain large insurance policies to cover the trucks. Immediately after a truck wreck, the insurance company sends out accident reconstruction engineers and various other experts to help defend the company. If you or a loved one have been involved in a trucking accident, it is important to have a lawyer familiar with this process representing your interests from the very beginning.
There are a variety of different kinds of expert witnesses who are usually required in trucking accident cases. Accident reconstruction engineers can recreate an accident based on the physical evidence and photographs of the scene. The Wyoming Highway Patrol usually takes a series of photographs at an accident scene that are also frequently used by the experts. It is important to get copies of these photos as soon as possible.
We have cases where we had animated recreations of the accident created by the reconstruction engineers from the view of each driver in the crash so that the jury can actually watch the accident happen in real time. These can be very helpful in proving how the crash happened. But more importantly, they can demonstrate how the accident could have been avoided.
