Dangers of Big Trucks on the Roadway

Transcript:

Cindy Speaker: What are some of the dangers associated with big trucks on the road way?  That’s our topic on this episode of Main Street Law.  My guest is North Carolina Personal Injury Atty. Michael A. DeMayo of the Law Offices of Michael A. DeMayo. So, Michael, thanks for being here today.

Michael DeMayo: Thank you for inviting me Cindy

Cindy Speaker: Well, Michael, what are some of the dangers associated with these big trucks on the roadway?

Michael DeMayo: Well, Cindy, there are number of different issues that occur when we deal with tractor trailers on the roadway.  Unfortunately, one of the biggest ones is that a lot of the industry standards are meant to or designed to push some of these drivers pass there limits of physical ability because they have certain deadlines.  As you know, tractor trailers account for a significant majority of the vehicles on the roadway.  And from a practical standpoint, there are a number of things that we should be concerned about.

If you are involved in an accident with the tractor trailers, statistically, you are going to be either severely injured or killed, and that is just physics 101.  Because from a practical reality, no matter how big your vehicle, you are actually going to be up against a vehicle that outweighs you 50 to 60 to 70 times, depending on the load that they are carrying. So from a practical standpoint, if you have any kind of interaction with a tractor trailer on the highway, and as a general rule, you are going to come in contact with a tractor trailer on some sort of interstate.  So generally you are going to have speed as a factor of 70, 65, 55 miles per hour. You combine all those factors, there is a potential for very, very significant injuries and/or death when we are dealing with tractor trailers.

So there is a number of different issues, different than just a regular personal injury claim dealing with an automobile that you have to be aware of.

Cindy Speaker: Okay.  And along those lines, I believe there were a number of federal regulations that govern big trucks, is that correct?

Michael DeMayo: Well, federally there are, there is an entire booklet.  They are called Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations that govern interstate tractor trailers or trucking vehicles on the roadway.  A number of issues are they regulate the amount of time that a driver can be in service.  You will have to keep what is called drivers’ logs to specifically delineate when you have been on duty, when you have been off duty.  There is a number of different maintenance issues that you have to have regular inspection much more so than an automobile.  And obviously, the very common one is you can’t be over loaded or overweighed.  Sometimes when you hear about tractor trailers jackknifing or sliding around, sometimes the load has been inappropriately or improperly loaded on the tractor trailer.  So there are serious regulations that are mandated by the Federal Government that are supposed to insure the safety of consumers out there that are innocent—consumers that are traveling up and down the road ways.

Cindy Speaker: And if someone is hit by a tractor trailer, who is it that is held responsible?  I mean, is it the truck driver himself or the trucking company, the manufacturer of the product the truck was carrying?  Who would it be?

Michael DeMayo: In a typical scenario when we handle a fair amount of tractor trailer cases, the coverage is going to be derivative from both the carrier, the owner of the vehicle of the tractor trailer, it could be the shipper and as a general rule, if it is a big corporation, there are layers of insurance or umbrella coverage.  In a commercial environment, which is what you’re dealing with from an insurance standpoint on a tractor trailer, there is usually layers of coverage that would cover that individual, depending on whether or not the tractor trailer is empty, that is called deadhead where they are actually traveling to go pick up a load.  So usually, you do need a fairly sophisticated, experienced personal injury attorney who specializes in tractor trailer accidents to get to that information because it is not something that is going to be readily apparent or available to you just by perusing the accident report.

Cindy Speaker: That is so clear.  This is obviously a very complex area of law.  Now, if someone wants to reach your office, how would they do that, Michael

Michael DeMayo: Well, what they would do is they would contact us by phone, toll free (877) 333-1000 or if they would rather contact us through the internet or at least look at our firm’s qualifications for these type of cases, they can go to www.demayolaw, that is a one word, D-E-M-A-Y-O-L-A-W dot-com and someone they can actually look at our qualifications and some of the checklist items that we have, specifically for tractor trailer cases.  Also, there is an ability, while they are on line, if they want to engage with one of our employees, or a subsidiary of our employee to get some basic information to see if it is something we can help them with.

Tractor trailer accident cases need to be investigated immediately, because right after the incident occurs or the accident occurs, you better believe they are flying down their lawyers, their accident reconstructionist and a team of investigators to, if you will, solidify and secure the accident scene.  We have seen in every single case where there have been significant injuries.  And even though we get hired, sometimes a week or two weeks after the incident, sometimes we are still behind the eight ball because they’ve already had so much lead time with regard to getting facts and information about the incident.

Cindy: Excellent information.  Michael, thank you for being with us today.

Michael DeMayo: My pleasure.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker from State Law TV.

Trucking Accidents with Peter Steinberg

Los Angeles personal injury attorney Peter Steinberg was a guest on StateLawTV to discuss trucking accidents. Cindy Speaker interviews Mr. Steinberg about the legal questions that arise when dealing with the aftermath of an accident with a large truck.
 

Trucking Accidents

Video Transcript:
Cindy Speaker: What are some of the dangerous associated with big trucks on the roadway? That’s our topic on this episode of Main Street Law. My guest is Los Angeles personal injury attorney Peter Steinberg of Steinberg and Spencer and he’s going to talk with us about this topic. So Peter thanks for being with us today.

Peter Steinberg: Cindy it’s always a pleasure to be with you.

Cindy Speaker: Well Peter, what are some of the dangerous associated with big trucks on the roadway?

Peter Steinberg: Well, I would think that the biggest danger Cindy is the sheer size of trucks versus the size of automobiles. When there is a truck versus auto accident, it frequently is a very sizable crash and it can result in a very sizable injury.

Cindy Speaker: Right. Now Peter, are there any state or federal regulations that actually govern big trucks?

Peter Steinberg: There are many, many states, as well as federal regulations that govern large trucks. Everything from the amount of hours that the driver can drive to the braking, brakes and braking systems and the mechanical condition of the truck.

Cindy Speaker: Okay, now Peter who can be sued in an accident where a commercial truck driver was at fault, would you sue the driver or would you sue the trucking company?

Peter Steinberg: Typically yes, you would file a lawsuit against both the driver, as well as the trucking company. And oftentimes there are other parties as well.

Cindy Speaker: Peter why is it important to consult with an attorney as soon as possible?

Peter Steinberg: Well, when you’re dealing with big trucking companies, as soon as there’s accident, they’re doing their investigation, they’re taking statements of witnesses, and gathering a lot of evidence to use against you, so you want to get to an attorney as quickly as you possibly can, who’s experienced in handling large truck accidents and large injuries.

Cindy Speaker: Well that makes sense. Well Peter, what kind of qualification should one look for when hiring an attorney in these types of cases?

Peter Steinberg: Well, I think the key thing is you want an attorney that has trial experience, you want an attorney who has experience with trucking companies and you want an attorney who has experience with substantial injuries as well.

Cindy Speaker: And can you tell us about your experience with trucking accidents over the years?

Peter Steinberg: Oh, we’ve handled countless large truck accidents in our 30 years of representing accident victims Cindy.

Cindy Speaker: And Peter, if someone is involved in a trucking accident, and they have specific questions, how can they reach you?

Peter Steinberg: I think the easiest way to reach us is probably by telephone, we have toll free numbers 1-800-350-8888 and we have somebody available, almost always 24/7. They can also go to our website, and that’s www.steinbergspencer.com

Cindy Speaker: Very good. Well Peter thank you for being with us today.

Peter Steinberg: My pleasure Cindy, always nice to talk to you.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker for Main Street Law.

Trucking Accidents

Video Transcripts:
Cindy Speaker: What are some of the dangers associated with big trucks on the roadways? That’s our topic today and my guest is Houston Attorney Terry Bryant. Terry, thank you for being with us today.

Terry Bryant: Thank you for having me.

Cindy Speaker: Well Terry, what are some of the dangers associated with big trucks on the roadway?

Terry Bryant: There are several dangers. Some are blind spots, some involve when the truck swings wide to make a turn, some are involved with just the size of the vehicles, they’re very heave and it takes a long time to stop them. Basically, it’s size versus size. The point is that what the 18-wheelers call 4-wheelers, are just no match for big trucks.

Cindy Speaker: Now are there any State or Federal regulations that govern big trucks?

Terry Bryant: Yes. There are a number of State and Federal regulations that cover big trucks. Some of which govern the number of hours a truck driver can operate his or her vehicle in a 24 hour period.

Cindy Speaker: Well, who can be sued in an accident where a commercial truck driver was at fault?

Terry Bryant: Well certainly, the truck driver can be sued, and if he or she is working for a trucking company, the owner of the truck and perhaps the owner of the trailer, and maybe even the person or the company that was shipping or any person that was involved in contributing to the accident in any way.

Another area we need to look at is product liability that is the manufacturer may have been contributed to the accident such as in the case of tires that may have caused a blowout.

Cindy Speaker: Okay. But why is it important to consult an attorney as soon as possible?

Terry Bryant: Large trucking companies are quick to get their own lawyers involved in an incident such as this. They will be busy gathering evidence, taking photographs, and getting statements. An individual needs of an attorney on their side, to level the plating(ph) field, otherwise there are the disadvantages at the mercy of the big trucking companies. And it’s quite possible that critical pieces evidence will disappear.

Cindy Speaker: Well, what kind of qualification should one look for when hiring an attorney in these cases?

Terry Bryant: As always, nothing can take the place of experience. So you want an attorney who has successfully handled many of these types of claims. You want an attorney that is a specialist in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Rules and Regulations; and you want an attorney that has a strong reputation that would be able to stand up to these large companies.

Cindy Speaker: Well Terry, can you tell us a little bit about your experience with some of these big trucking accidents over the years?

Terry Bryant: We’ve handled a number of these trucking accidents over the past 25 to 28 years. It’s something we work on, on a daily basis, all day, everyday.

Cindy Speaker: And if someone has specific questions, how can he reach you?

Terry Bryant: They can call on our toll free number 1-800-444-5000, or on the web at www.TerryBryant.com.

Cindy Speaker: Very good. Well, Terry, thank you so much for your time today.

Terry Bryant: Well, thank you for having me.

Cindy Speaker: This is Cindy Speaker reporting.