Commercial Truck Accident Attorneys in Las Vegas, NV
With more and more people relying on home deliveries for groceries, meals, and other items, commercial trucks and drivers have proliferated on the roads. It is, thus, inevitable that with more commercial drivers on the road, the number of commercial truck accidents increase.
Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety reported that deaths from truck accidents increased by 48% from 2009 to 2019. The COVID pandemic and the resulting quarantine caused a further increase in reliance on home delivery services and, consequently, in truck accidents. The year of COVID, 2020, saw an 18% increase in fatal crashes involving large trucks and a 12% increase in large truck crashes resulting in injury. Of those killed in crashes involving large trucks, 71% were occupants of other vehicles.
Besides the fact that there are more commercial trucks on the roads, the increased reliance on home deliveries increased the demand for qualified commercial truck drivers. Unfortunately, the supply of qualified drivers was slow to catch up to that demand, resulting in a truck driver shortage. Despite the shortage, online retailers like Amazon still must satisfy the needs of their consumers, and they did so by increasing pressure on the commercial drivers they do employ.
Severity Of Injuries from Commercial Truck Accidents
A large truck is defined as any medium or heavy truck, not including buses and motor homes, with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 10,000 pounds. This definition encompasses commercial and non-commercial trucks. The weight of a large truck is about 2-3 times the weight of a regular car, which has an average weight of about 4,000 pounds. Given the weight differential, it’s no surprise that the occupants of smaller vehicles would suffer greater injuries. Of those killed in crashes involving large trucks, 71% were occupants of other vehicles.
Injuries from crashes and accidents involving large trucks can be catastrophic and cause devastating impact on the lives of victims and their families. Catastrophic injuries can include paralysis, spinal trauma, and traumatic brain injury. Often accompanying such injuries are significant income loss and medical bills.
Standards Governing Commercial Truck Drivers
Commercial truck drivers are subject to the same rules of the road as any other motorist, but they are also subject to rules and regulations specific to them. Commercial truck drivers generally must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL), for which they must qualify with formal education and training. Drivers must also obtain medical certification from certified medical examiners. Many commercial truck drivers must also comply with federal rules and regulations.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is the federal agency that regulates commercial drivers and trucks involved in interstate commerce. It promulgates and enforces safety regulations such as how many hours in a given week or day a driver can work and documentation of these hours. These “hours of service” regulations are intended to prevent accidents caused by driver fatigue. Violations of these laws can result in civil liability for both the truck driver and their employer for any resulting injury or death. Commercial trucks are also subject to federal regulations and periodic inspections by authorized safety inspectors. There are additional regulations governing trucks transporting hazardous materials. In 2021, the FMCSA reported 21.4% of nearly 2 million truck inspections resulted in vehicles being placed out of service.
What Can Carvalho & Associates Do for You?
Dan Carvalho and the other attorneys at Carvalho & Associates have extensive experience and success in litigating accident cases involving commercial drivers and commercial trucks. Through decades of experience, the personal injury trial attorneys at Carvalho & Associates became versed in the rules and regulations governing commercial truck drivers. This experience and knowledge are critical in deposing and cross-examining drivers and their employers regarding their compliance with those laws.
Carvalho & Associates’ decades of experience involve litigating severe or catastrophic injuries and even death arising from a variety of different accidents. This experience has also honed the Carvalho & Associates trial attorneys’ skills and medical and engineering knowledge, which help to prove how a crash caused a victim’s injuries and the extent of the victim’s injuries. Our firm also assembles a team of the most qualified experts – from engineers, medical doctors, and leading industry consultants - to help us prove our client’s case.
While litigating against some of the country’s largest commercial trucking companies can be expensive, Carvalho & Associates have not only the skills, experience, and knowledge but also the resources to go toe-to-toe with multi-billion-dollar companies. We do what it takes to obtain just and fair compensation for our injured clients.
If you or a loved one suffered an injury in an accident involving a commercial truck driver, you need to hire personal injury attorneys experienced and skilled in that area. You also need to be able to trust that your attorneys will be able to handle the complex issues that may arise in commercial trucking cases. Contact Carvalho & Associates for a free consultation.
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