Las Vegas Truck Accident Attorney

Truck and commercial vehicle accidents cause some of the most debilitating injuries of all the vehicle crashes on Nevada’s highways and roads. Serious burns, paraplegia, quadriplegia, long-lasting head and neck trauma as well as a long list of broken bones and soft tissue injuries often result from collisions between heavy trucks and smaller autos.

Despite safety laws and increased driver training requirements, commercial trucking accidents are on the rise. Over the last two decades injuries and deaths resulting from track crashes have risen 20 percent. This is in contrast to auto deaths, which have steadily trended downward over the same period. Trucks, vans and generally commercial vehicles can carry substantial insurance coverage due to the seriousness of injuries that these vehicles can cause. Because significant amounts of money can be at stake, insurance companies have developed strategies to attempt to defend themselves from these claim. It takes an experienced attorney to cause these companies to make significant offers or to cause them to offer their full policy limits.

Nevada truck accident attorney Eric H. Woods has over thirty years of experience helping truck accident and commercial vehicle victims recover just and full compensation for lost wages, present and future medical care, pain and suffering and more. He works compassionately with clients to see that their present and future medical needs are provided for, and that they receive full and fair compensation.

Causes of Commercial Truck and Van Accidents

Injuries resulting from these accidents are often more serious simply because of the weight of the commercial vehicle. When a fully loaded eighteen wheeler weighing as much as 80,000 lbs. collides with a smaller vehicle or pedestrian the results are often catastrophic.

Driver fatigue is a common factor in many serious accidents caused by truck drivers. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety “ … truck drivers behind the wheel for more than 8 hours had a twofold increase in crash risk. … Truckers’ long work hours cause sleep deprivation, disruption of normal sleep/rest cycles, and fatigue…. The Institute found that truck drivers reporting hours-of-service violations were more likely to report having fallen asleep behind the wheel during the past month.”

According to the Highway Loss Data Institute “Compared with passenger vehicles, stopping distances for trucks are much longer. On wet and slippery roads, there are even greater disparities between the braking capabilities of large trucks and cars … Braking disparities can be aggravated by poor maintenance of truck braking systems. In a 1996 survey involving inspections of a representative sample of large trucks on the road, out-of-adjustment brakes were the most common reason for authorities to order trucks out of service.”

While most truck drivers practice prudent safety measures, there are several factors consistent with commercial truck driving that can put motorists at risk of personal injury or death.

• Commercial truck operators and delivery personnel’s pay is often based on productivity, which encourages faster driving and longer hours of operations.
• Drivers are often distracted by cell phone calls or texting during long shifts. With the increased demands of operating heavily loaded vehicles, driver distraction has become a leading cause of traffic death and injuries. In response the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has banned commercial drivers from texting while operating a commercial vehicle.
• Brake failure, according to DOT, accounts for 29.5 percent of all truck crashes. When a injury accident is proven to result from a vehicle’s inability to stop or slow appropriately, multiple parties could be liable for financial damages.
• Commercial truck and van drivers cause accidents by the types of conduct listed below, as well as other negligent conduct:
• Speeding
• Aggressive driving
• Rubbernecking
• Prescription or illegal drug use

If you’ve been injured in a Nevada truck crash, or a collision caused by any commercial vehicle, or a loved one has been killed, it’s vital to protect your rights to full financial recovery. By consulting an experienced truck accident attorney, you can not only protect your rights, but preserve your health by getting the medical treatment you need and deserve.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply to interstate motor carriers with vehicles having a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) or combination GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more

If a vehicle regulated by the FMCS Regulations is involved in a an accident, and is not in compliance, the compliance failure may cause the vehicle’s driver, owner and insurer to have pay for the accident and injuries, even if facts about why the accident happened are not entirely clear.

In Nevada, the DMV Motor Carrier section regulates Interstate Motor Carriers and Intrastate Common Goods Carriers. Intrastate Motor Carriers and Household Goods Movers are regulated by the Nevada Transportation Authority.

Don’t be in a Rush to Settle a Claim

There are several reasons truck collisions require a special level of experience and skill to properly settle. Tractor trailers, bobtail trucks, flat beds, big rigs, vans and other commercial vehicles are used every day by businesses and transportation companies to move goods across Nevada’s roads and highways. Most of these companies employ their own adjuster or risk manager whose job is to immediately travel to the site of an accident and conduct an investigation in order to limit their employer’s liability. They are known for settling quickly, making an offer while the injured party is most vulnerable and before they’ve had an opportunity to get a full medical evaluation as well as legal advice.

Truck Crash Injuries

The full effects of soft tissue injuries to the neck and spine, some head trauma, and other injuries often do not surface until weeks after an accident. A quick settlement, even if it appears generous, is rarely in the injured party’s best interest. Injur victims need and deserve a full medical evaluation in order to determine the future effects of their injuries. Mr. Woods’ experience in conducting proper investigations in order to ascertain all the liable parties is that proper investigations take time.

Crash Investigations

Establishing liability in commercial vehicle collision is challenging and time consuming because of the overlapping layers of liability. The truck driver is often an employee and usually is liable separately and in addition to the employer. . The company’s safety records, truck maintenance records, management policies as well as the driver’s history all need to be reviewed and examined before fixing liability. This is in addition to the investigation of the accident itself. This process is not only time consuming and complex, but vital to a client’s full financial recovery. Mr. Woods has the patience, determination, and experience to aggressively pursue his truck crash cases to reach the best financial award for his clients.

Event Data Recorders (EDRs) are devices which record events and are on board many large trucks. If a truck involved in an accident has an EDR, then an accident reconstruction expert can be employed to retrieve the crash data to establish why the accident happened and what the responsibility of the truck driver is.

Eric H. Woods | Las Vegas Trucking Accident Lawyer

Truck crash lawyer, Eric H. Woods is not only experienced in all aspects of these detailed investigations, but has won significant financial awards for his injured clients. If you’ve been injured in any type of truck accident take the first step to secure your health and financial future, call Eric H. Woods for a free consultation today.