Determining if Truck Driver Error Caused a Truck Accident

This video features Michael J. Warshauer, an Employment and Labor Law attorney based in Georgia.

Attorney Michael Warshauer | 888-981-5602 | Free Consult

“At the end of the day, it is the driver’s obligation to be safe. No question about it.”

Truck drivers are under a lot of pressure from their employers to stay on the road. They may break laws by driving longer hours than they should and resort to drug use to stay awake. This kind of behavior puts everyone at risk. Trucking companies, as well as truck driver error, can cause truck accidents when these laws are broken. It’s up to an attorney to determine where the fault lies.

Michael Warshauer is a personal injury trial lawyer based in Atlanta with over three decades of experience handling injury claims. Warshauer is a lawyer with Warshauer Law Group, and he has been named a Georgia Super Lawyer for nine years running.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-5602 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Key Takeaways From Michael Warshauer:

Like any vehicle, big rig trucks are susceptible to driver error and subsequent accidents. However, the damages inflicted by a big rig are usually far more severe than those dealt by a passenger car, so it is imperative that truck drivers and trucking companies exercise a much higher level of caution.

Driver error, equipment error, fatigue error, and drugs and alcohol use are leading causes of truck accidents.

Driver error is a potential hazard no matter what vehicle a person is driving. Defective or poorly maintained equipment are also common causes for trucking accidents. A third common reason for truck accidents is often attributed to driver error, but actually falls into a category of its own: driver fatigue. Driver fatigue can occur when a truck driver does not take the required amount of time to rest between driving, or when a trucking company fails to enforce adequate rest policies. While not the leading cause of truck accidents, drug and alcohol use also play a part in many devastating truck accidents.

Hours of service laws are federally mandated safety rules for truck drivers.

When evaluating an accident and tracking the evidence to figure out how it occurred, attorneys will investigate data from the technology most big rigs are equipped with. This technology tracks elements like departure time and location, speed, ending destination, when and where an accident occurred, as well as the driver’s actions during and after the accident. If the story a truck driver or company tells does not match the data from this technology, that is a good indication of a violation of hours of service laws.

Some trucking companies pressure their employees to remain on the road in unsafe conditions to increase profit.

Although a driver may choose to drive while fatigued in order to foster a bigger paycheck, trucking companies are required to monitor this issue and hold negligent drivers accountable. Unfortunately, the potential of increased profit can motivate these companies to turn a blind eye.

It’s important to have an experienced attorney on your side as soon as possible if you have been involved in a trucking accident.

Trucking companies have their own experienced insurance and legal teams, which they will send to the scene of the accident immediately after it occurs. This is why it is vital to send your own legal team to the scene to preserve important evidence that could otherwise be hidden or destroyed. Additionally, state and federal regulations exist surrounding safety procedures for trucking companies that the public may not be aware of but an experienced attorney will be versed in.

Qualified personal injury attorneys do not charge attorney fees unless they win your case.

The idea of hiring an attorney may seem out of your price range, but the good news is that qualified personal injury attorneys like Warshauer and others in his firm work on contingency. This means you won’t owe any fees unless and until they win your case, at which point they would be paid out of the winnings. If you or a loved one have been injured in a truck accident, seek legal counsel to find out what compensation you may be eligible for.

To learn more, contact Michael Warshauer directly by calling 888-981-5602 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

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