Accidents involving commercial vehicles are typically devastating. A commercial vehicle is a vehicle with a gross weight rating over 10,000 pounds. This includes tractor trailer trucks, tanker trucks, dump trucks, tow trucks, and coach buses. These accidents involve a very distinct set of complications that make them very different from a typical motor vehicle accident.
When a vehicle that exceeds 10,000 pounds collides with a smaller vehicle, the injuries and damage can be devastating, and in many circumstances fatal. At any given moment there are likely hundreds of commercial vehicles on Connecticut roadways.
Investigation Commercial Truck Accidents
These cases involve a very specific analysis and investigation that includes determining the cause of the accident. Specifically, what caused the commercial vehicle to collide with a car. Elements that influence the occurrence of a crash may take place hours, days, or months before the crash.
They include driver training and experience, vehicle design and manufacture, highway condition and traffic signaling, and weather conditions. Other elements may take place immediately before a crash, such as a decision to turn in traffic, a tire blowout, or snow. As a result, involving a trucking accident attorney with experience in complex motor vehicle accident cases as early as possible can be crucial.
The trucking attorneys at Injured CT have significant experience working on complex Hartford commercial vehicle accidents, and have worked with some of the top experts in the world
Accident reconstruction experts rarely conclude that crashes are the result of a single factor. Fatigue, drinking alcohol, and speeding are major factors in motor vehicle crashes overall. Although their presence does not always result in a crash, these three factors, as well as other driver, vehicle, and environmental factors, can increase the risk that a crash will occur.
Federal Trucking Regulations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is responsible for monitoring and regulating the operation of commercial vehicles, including those that operate in Connecticut. The FMCSA has conducted a study of hundreds of potential factors that may contribute to commercial vehicle accidents.
After analyzing the data, the FMSCA compiled a list of the most common and significant factors contributing to trucking accidents. The following ten factors are ranked in order of the most common potential factors involved in a truck accident. They are:
- Brake problems
- Traffic flow interruption (congestion, previous crash)
- Prescription drug use
- Traveling too fast for conditions
- Unfamiliarity with roadway
- Roadway problems
- Required to stop before the crash (traffic control device, crosswalk)
- Over-the-counter drug use
- Inadequate surveillance
- Fatigue
Investigation of the accident is not the only complicated aspect of truck accidents. In many circumstances, the cause of the accident may be maintenance-related or a defect in the truck. In truck accident cases, the victim could potentially be negotiating with the company that employs the driver, the insurance companies, potentially the manufacturer of the commercial vehicle, the company that owns the commercial vehicle, and possibly others.
Filing a Personal Injury Against a Commercial Trucking Claim
Even if a truck driver operating in Hartford has clearly caused your crash, the insurance companies and attorneys representing the driver, the employer, and any other companies involved may attempt to dispute liability for the accident.
They may also attack the extent or the severity of the injuries you’ve suffered. They may even deny the claim in its entirety. Given these issues and the complicated problems that arise in trucking accidents, it is very important to have an experienced accident attorney advocating on your behalf from the outset.
Trucking accidents, like car accidents, vary in severity. The severity of this type of collision can be influenced by several factors including speed, weather and road conditions traffic conditions, driver experience and training, weight and type of load being carried, and condition of the truck.
Moreover, the type of commercial vehicle involved can have a significant impact. Severe accidents can involve tanker trucks, freight trucks, dump trucks, tractor-trailers, and coach buses. Many companies that operate these vehicles are not required to maintain records for more than 90 days.
Because of the potentially short record retention deadlines that may be involved, getting an experienced litigation attorney involved as early as possible to investigate any potential claims is extremely important
Contact an Experienced Commercial Vehicle Accident Attorney
If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident in Hartford it is important to consult with a skilled professional as soon after the incident as possible. Injured CT’s experienced personal injury attorneys can help you recover for your injuries.
The attorneys at Injured CT have extensive experience in investigating, litigating and prosecuting claims on behalf of injured clients who are the victims of negligent trucking companies.