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How Trucking Laws and Regulations Can Affect a Personal Injury Claim

March 2, 2023 by

The Impact of State and Federal Regulations after a Truck Accident

How-Trucking-Laws-and-Regulations-Can-Affect-a-Personal-Injury-Claim-imgDid you know that a fully loaded semi, 18-wheeler or tractor-trailer can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds? When you consider that the average passenger vehicle tips the scales at slightly more than 4,000 pounds, the potential for serious injury when your car collides with a big rig becomes obvious.

Lawmakers have long understood the inherent risks posed by 40-ton semis barreling down the nation’s roadways. That’s one of the reasons that the United States Congress and many state legislatures have enacted laws and implemented regulations governing the trucking industry, particularly with respect to how much time truck drivers spend on the road, and how well they maintain their vehicles.

What Are the Federal “Time on the Road” Limits for Commercial Truck Drivers?

Most commercial truck drivers are paid by the load delivered, which creates an incentive to spend more time on the road. At the same time, though, one of the most frequent causes of truck accidents is driver fatigue. Because too much time on the road can leave a driver tired, less attentive, and less responsive in an emergency, federal law establishes restrictions for how much time a driver can continuously be behind the wheel and how much time a driver can operate a truck over a given period of time:

  • Drivers may drive up to 11 hours at a stretch, but only if preceded by 10 consecutive hours off duty
  • Drivers must take at least 30 minutes off every 8 hours
  • Drivers may not be behind the wheel more than 60 hours in any given 7-day-period or 70 hours in any given 8-day-period

What Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection Reports Must a Driver Keep?

Drivers must maintain a log, which must include a daily post-trip inspection report. The inspection report must identify the vehicle, as well as any defects that may have an impact on the safe operation of the vehicle.

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

The Importance of an Expert Witness in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 8, 2023 by

Helping a Judge and Jury Understand the Complex Issues in a Truck Accident Claim

The Importance of an Expert WitnessIn the aftermath of a collision with a semi, big rig, 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer or other large commercial truck, you have the right to seek full and fair compensation for all your losses, including unearned wages and income, unreimbursed medical expenses, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium/companionship, and property damage. Truck accident claims pose unique challenges, though:

  • The causes of the accident can often be difficult to determine
  • The potential medical and financial consequences can be uncertain

In a lawsuit to recover damages for losses sustained in a commercial truck accident, it’s common to introduce testimony from other parties to the accident, or from bystanders who witnessed the events. You can also bring in physical evidence, such as pictures of the road conditions or the damage to your vehicle. However, it’s usually essential to retain expert witnesses to most effectively present your case to the judge and jury.

What Is the Function of an Expert Witness?

To succeed with a personal injury lawsuit, you must show two things:

  • Who is liable—Who caused the accident and how they caused it
  • How much you have and will lose as a consequence of the accident (your damages)

Expert witnesses are commonly used to establish both liability and damages.

To establish liability, your attorney will typically work with an “accident reconstruction specialist,” often an engineer, who will gather factual data and re-create the events of the accident. That may include measuring skid marks or carefully examining and documenting the damage to both vehicles (among other things).

Two different expert witnesses are commonly used to establish your losses:

  • A medical expert will testify regarding the nature of your injuries, how they were sustained, and what care/costs will be required in the future
  • A financial expert can accurately calculate both the present and future costs of all your losses, and will typically provide a present value of all future damages

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck Accident

February 1, 2023 by

What You Need to Show to Recover Compensation for Your Losses

Proving Fault in a New Jersey Truck AccidentWhen you’ve been injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, chances are your injuries are significant. After all, a semi, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler or big rig can legally carry up to 80,000 pounds. Even the largest passenger vehicles (the Chevy Suburban is the heaviest) come in at less than 7,000 pounds. Though it can often seem to you that the causes of the accident were obvious, proving liability in a truck accident claim can be challenging, mostly because there are so many different factors that can contribute to an accident:

  • Driver fatigue
  • Poor maintenance of the truck
  • Dangerous or defective components (brakes, steering mechanism, tires)
  • Poorly maintained roadways
  • Operator error
  • Lack of training, experience or supervision

What Must You Prove to Win a Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Though you can always file a lawsuit based on the intentional and wrongful acts of another person, as a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on allegations of negligence. To succeed with a negligence claim, you must show three things:

  • That the person from whom you seek compensation (the defendant) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances (drove too fast, failed to properly maintain the truck, etc.)
  • That the failure to act reasonably caused the accident
  • That you suffered actual losses as a consequence of the accident

What Types of Evidence Can Be Used to Support Your Claim?

Evidence can be obtained from a variety of sources:

  • Eyewitness testimony from persons involved in the accident or from bystanders
  • Testimony from expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists
  • Data gathered from the truck’s “black box recorder”
  • The official accident report filed with law enforcement officers
  • Forensic evidence, such as examination of vehicles, roadway conditions or injuries sustained
  • Pictures taken at the scene of the accident

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

Potentially Liable Parties in a New Jersey Truck Accident

January 4, 2023 by

Determining Who Caused the Wreck

Potentially Liable Parties in a New Jersey Truck AccidentWhen you’re involved in a collision with an 18-wheeler, big rig, semi, tractor-trailer or other commercial vehicle, your injuries can be serious, even if the accident occurred at relatively slow speeds. A fully loaded semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, under current trucking regulations and your passenger vehicle will rarely weigh more than a couple tons. In most instances, you’re going to get the worst of it. To recover compensation, though, you’ll need to establish liability—who caused the accident. In many cases, you may actually be able to show that a number of different parties contributed to the crash.

Who Are the Potentially Liable Parties in a Commercial Trucking Accident?

In the aftermath of a truck accident, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against:

  • The person driving the truck—The driver may have made driving mistakes, may have been distracted by a mobile device or a passenger, may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, may have violated state or federal regulations governing “time on the road,” or may have failed to conduct required maintenance
  • The owner of the truck—If the driver was employed by a trucking company, you may have a claim against the business or the owner. That may involve negligence in hiring, training or monitoring. It can also include failure to ensure that the driver took required rests or that the vehicle was properly maintained.
  • The cargo loader—Many accidents are caused because 18-wheelers or delivery vans are overloaded or because the loads are imbalanced, causing rollovers or loss of control
  • The manufacturer of the truck or of a part or component of the truck—You may have a product liability claim for negligent design, manufacture or marketing if the accident was caused by the breakdown or failure of a part or product
  • The local government, if the accident was caused by a poorly maintained or designed road

Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC

Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.

Filed Under: New Jersey Truck Accidents Tagged With:

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