Semi Truck Accident Attorney in Jacksonville

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Truck accident attorneys in Florida have to have a thorough understanding of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations as published in the Code of Federal Regulations by the United States Department of Transportation. With today’s crowded roadways, the number of traffic fatalities and major accidents involving trucks used for commerce has continued to increase each year. If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, it is most important to document the details of the events surrounding the incident as soon as possible. The Florida Legislature recently incorporated the federal government’s truck regulations into state law to ensure that the same laws govern intrastate truck accidents and interstate truck accidents.

An immediate investigation into a commercial truck accident by authorities may produce critical data for your truck accident attorney to be used in your personal injury or wrongful death case. Truck accident cases are always a bit tricky because of the need to determine who was responsible for the accident, what caused the accident and who is liable for the damages.

Harrell & Harrell, P.A., will provide a free case consultation at our Jacksonville law office with no cost or obligation to you. If your truck accident attorney determines you do have a case, a successful negotiation for a settlement in a truck accident case could occur at any point, including:

• During the initial discovery process
• While the claim is being prepared
• After the claim has been presented
• During insurance company negotiations
• Through court-ordered mediation
• After a formal judicial proceeding

Since the truck and the trailer used for commercial shipping may belong to different entities (or may have been leased separately), determining ownership of the truck and hauler is an important and sometimes difficult first step. In most cases, a search of the vehicle’s DOT# (Department of Transportation Number) and MC# (Motor Carrier Number) found on the cab of the truck proves to be the most valuable link to legal ownership.

Truck drivers and their companies are strictly controlled with laws, rules and regulations, both federal and state. They are required to maintain regimented records of their driving hours. Plus, detailed information—known as engine control module data, or ECM data—about their driving is recorded and stored in an electronic device known as the “black box.”

ECM data gives investigators a much clearer understanding about what happened at the accident scene. This includes when braking occurred and/or how suddenly the braking took place. It may provide information about whether air or pedal brakes were used, show average driving speed and the speed the vehicle was going right before the accident, and perhaps track speed acceleration. Data may be available about what was happening in up the last 60 seconds before the accident occurred.

Not all trucking companies use the same black box technology, with some choosing more advanced models than others, but any truck that uses this technology can provide at least some information about what happened while leading up to the accident and what happened during the time of the impact. It may reveal whether the driver was wearing a safety belt, the tire pressure of the truck, and whether the truck was overloaded.

After an accident, police officers may collect black box data. Often, though, they don’t have the necessary tools. When that’s the case, a variety of unwanted things can happen next:

• In some instances, the trucking company collects the data first and can proactively create a defense.
• If no one else requests this information, the company will be the only entity in possession of the ECM data.
• The truck can get repaired and/or driven, and crucial information can get lost.

If this data is preserved, it may be requested and received by:

• insurance investigators, including those of the truck company
• attorneys, including those of the truck company
• private investigators, including those of the truck company

What can get lost in this process is the investigation and accident reconstruction by someone advocating for the accident victim. If you need experienced legal representation after a truck accident, contact us online for a free case review or call 800-251-1111.

After a major truck accident, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will usually conduct a complete accident investigation. Pertinent information taken from the truck’s cab is used to identify the manufacturer, make, model and gross vehicle weight rating for the commercial vehicle. The investigator’s findings are coupled with public records, such as insurance coverage, to establish ownership for the determination of exact liability and responsibility for compensation of accident damages. Based on the details of the investigator’s report, the Florida State Attorney’s office may choose to review the case for possible criminal violations by the truck driver and/or the trucking company who commissioned the payload.

A Jacksonville truck accident attorney knows the driver of any truck used for commerce is required to keep a log of his or her activities. The driver’s log can be useful in determining the driver’s compliance with state and federal regulations regarding the number of hours driving time, the total number of rest periods, the vehicle’s inspection dates and the manufacturer’s recommended gross vehicle weight. Overloading the truck’s trailer is a violation that is often linked to more serious truck and transportation accidents. Since the manufacturer’s information advises the truck’s operator as to the maximum load, liability may be established if the vehicle’s payload exceeded the combined weight for braking.

A truck driver must have a commercial driving license (CDL) to operate any truck and trailer with a gross vehicle weight of 26,000 lbs. or more. He or she must have passed a driver’s road test and be certified for the vehicle he or she is driving. Prior to hiring a commercial truck driver, the employer is responsible for a background check to determine the driving history, criminal history and employment history of the applicant truck driver. A current medical examination is also a legal duty of any employer before they put an individual behind the wheel of a truck used for commercial purposes.

Trucking Accidents with Renee Harrell

Legal Representation From Truck Accident Attorneys Help Victims

One of the ways that a truck accident lawyer in Jacksonville can help is with obtaining information contained in the black box after an accident. Some information collected will be fairly straightforward, such as when the driver was moving at a high speed or perhaps didn’t brake at all.

Other less apparent information that can be gathered includes hours of service for the vehicle in question. If the vehicle has been driven by just one person during the time of service in which the accident occurred, then it may be that the driver has been overworked beyond carefully regulated amounts of time. Our investigators can determine if the truck has exceeded the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCSA) hours of service standards. If so, the owner of the trucking company or employer may be liable for the actions of their overworked driver, who may have been driving while fatigued.

Drowsy Driving

Drowsy driving or driving while fatigued can be every bit as dangerous as drunk driving, but the former doesn’t always get the attention it deserves for its dangerous potential. Data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) demonstrates how drowsy driving is a major problem, with the CDD noting that the “risk, danger, and often tragic results of drowsy driving are alarming.”

What makes drowsy driving particularly dangerous is that no one can predict exactly when the effects of lack of sleep will take over, and this can be especially menacing when the vehicle is a large and heavy truck. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in just one year alone, drowsy driving was the cause of:

• 72,000 crashes
• 44,000 injuries
• 800 deaths

The CDC states these NHTSA numbers are in fact underestimated, with up to 6,000 fatal crashes per year potentially being caused by drowsy drivers. When drivers are fatigued, they pay less attention to the road, have slower response times, and less able to make good driving decisions.

Another factor that makes fatigued driving so dangerous is, according to the FMCSA is as follows: “Although many drivers feel that they know when they are getting drowsy, various laboratory tests have shown that persons are not good at estimating their own drowsiness.”

Included in the number of drivers who don’t recognize their own levels of fatigue are commercial truck drivers. So, when an accident happens, it’s crucial that black box data is preserved, with the right professionals on your side to investigate the safety record of the trucking company—and the sooner this investigation can take place, the better.

At Harrell & Harrell, P.A. we have our own experienced investigators who can delve into who is at fault for an accident, whether that’s the truck driver, the owner of the company, the employer, or perhaps even a broker. Our truck accident lawyers understand all the legal requirements for commercial trucking. In fact, our attorneys won the largest settlement to date in Clay County—$6.5 million—representing a young man who suffered a mild traumatic brain injury after a truck driver hit him head-on.

Increases in Truck Accidents

Using the most recent data provided by the NSC, there has been a 1.8 percent increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks and buses from 2021 to 2022, with the number of fatalities after a large truck crash increasing by 49 percent in the past 10 years alone.

If you’ve been injured in a trucking accident caused by someone else’s negligence, unreasonable behavior or careless acts, call our Jacksonville law office today at 904-251-1111 or 1-800-251-1111 for a free consultation. Our experienced staff of truck accident attorneys will determine the best course of legal action for your personal injury or wrongful death claim.

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