Trucking Accidents
Trucking Accidents by Tractor-Trailer, Big Rig, Cement Truck, Box Truck, and 18-Wheeler Accident Attorney Justin A. Hill
Tractor-Trailer combination vehicles are a fact of life for anyone traveling along the nation’s roadways. Tractor-Trailers serve the function of moving goods across the country. Tractor-Trailers are an important part of America’s economy. Also, they are also one of the largest hazards on the roadways.
There are many reasons that 18-wheelers/tractor-trailers pose such a danger on America’s roadways. An entire list would be impossible to create but there are a few common issues. First, the size of 18-wheelers limits visibility and braking distance. Second, the difference between 18-wheelers and passenger vehicles often mean that accidents are catastrophic. Third, some of the 18-wheelers on the road are improperly maintained such that mechanically they are dangerous. Fourth, drivers of 18-wheelers are often working on incentives that encourage them to drive faster and longer so that they can move their load from one place to another in a shorter amount of time. Finally, some companies do not ensure that competent driver are hiring, training and supervised such that a some of these gargantuan vehicles are driven by dangerous individuals.
In light of the extreme danger that tractor-trailers present to those on the roadways, government agencies, state and federal, have been formed to oversee the trucking industry. The largest agency is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. This agency describes it’s function:
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) was established within the Department of Transportation on January 1, 2000, pursuant to the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 (49 U.S.C. 113). Formerly a part of the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s primary mission is to prevent commercial motor vehicle-related fatalities and injuries. Activities of the Administration contribute to ensuring safety in motor carrier operations through strong enforcement of safety regulations; targeting high-risk carriers and commercial motor vehicle drivers; improving safety information systems and commercial motor vehicle technologies; strengthening commercial motor vehicle equipment and operating standards; and increasing safety awareness. To accomplish these activities, the Administration works with Federal, State, and local enforcement agencies, the motor carrier industry, labor safety interest groups, and others.
Further, the FMCSA has been charged with creating rules regulating the trucking industry. These regulations cover everything from how long a driver can drive to what a driver should do in case of an accident. The regulations limit what companies and drivers can do and sometimes are very useful in illustrating how a company or driver failed to do what it should. More about the FMCSA can be found on this slideshow from a FMCSA employee.
Even though there is an FMCSA that has created regulations to improve safety and reduce accidents, serious accidents caused by 18-wheelers do happen. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration keeps detailed statistics regarding large truck and bus accidents nationally and state by state. The preliminary statistics indicate that 2008, the most recent available statistics, was a deadly year on our Nation’s highways. For 2008, the FMCSA reports:
- 4,229 Fatality Accidents Involving 18-Wheelers;
- 90,000 Injury Accidents Involving 18-Wheelers;
- 318 Pedestrian Fatality Accidents Involving 18-Wheelers; and
- 69 Bicyclist Fatality Accidents Involving 18-Wheelers
- 49,084 Large Trucks and 7,123 Buses Involved in Injury Crashes;
- 123,918 Large Trucks and 13,263 Buses Involved in Non-Fatal Crashes;
- 73,047 Injuries in Crashes Involving Large Trucks and 16,760 Injuries in Crashes Involving Buses;
- 74,834 Large Trucks and 6,140 Buses Involved in Towaway Crashes; and
- 2,609 Large Trucks and 11 Buses Involved in Hazmat (HM) Placard Crashes.
Texas also experienced a large number of these dangerous, and potentially deadly, accidents. Further, the FMCSA maintains a large database of reports and briefs regarding issues concerning large truck and bus accidents and safety. They can be found at their site. According to the FMCSA, there were 123,918 large trucks and 13,263 buses involved in non-fatal crashes in 2008.
Some of the many crashes discussed above can be attributed to poor drivers, improperly maintained equipment, lax oversight by the companies and many other reasons not associated with the individual struck by the 18-wheeler. Some of the more common causes include:
- Driver Fatigue;
- Overweight/Improperly Secured Loads;
- Driver distraction–Texting, Cellphone, and Computer usage;
- Incompetent, Negligently Hired, and Negligently Trained Drivers;
- Equipment Problems Involving the Truck and Trailer;
- Drug and Alcohol Use; and
- Driver Inattention
Considering the many entities involved, equipment issues possible, and variety of loads hauled, there are often many causes of 18-wheeler accidents.
Sometimes these accidents involve litigation. Sometimes those injured or the families of those killed by 18-wheelers are forced to file a lawsuit against a trucking company to receive a fair and just result. When litigation is involved, there are many things to consider. First, it is extremely important to hire an attorney experienced with the intricacies of suing large highly regulated companies such as those in the trucking industry. Second, evidence must be secured quickly.
The involved vehicles may be critical pieces of evidence, and they must be carefully examined as soon as possible. In trucking accident cases, it is extremely important to move quickly to preserve and protect evidence because those representing the trucking company and their insurance will often be working against those injured. Investigating the scene and the vehicle and taking witnesses statements should be done as soon as possible after an accident as memories fade and evidence can disappear.
After the initial investigation, and a lawsuit is filed, all the documents regarding the driver, truck and facts surrounding the accident should be gathered. These documents often make or break a lawsuit against a trucking company. Examples of the documetns that should be investigated are as follows:
Driver’s Logs & Supporting Documents
When working on discovery in trucking cases, the Plaintiffs have the benefit of government mandated record-keeping requirements. The most important of these records is the logbook, which each driver is required to maintain. Another benefit is that there are many other documents that can be checked and compared to each other and the logbook to ensure the veracity of each document.
Plaintiffs should take time to request all of these documents and then try to reconcile the documents to ensure that all of them match the logbook and the motor carriers account of the events. Also, all of these documents should be requested for the greatest span of time possible, but no longer than 5 years. The longer the span, the more likely it is that a detailed analysis of all the documents could evidence a pattern or practice of doctoring log books and/or other documents, exceeding speed limits, exceeding hours of service requirements or other negligent activity or violations of state or federal laws.
As laws and technology changes, the documents that are important in a trucking case change too. Also, through discovery, the plaintiffs should determine if along with the documents listed below the Motor Carrier has any practices or procedures in place that require greater record keeping of the drivers. Below is a non-exhaustive list of documents that should be requested in a trucking case.
Log Book
The logbook contains daily log sheets which must be completed by the driver. These books record the driver’s hours of service, miles traveled, on or off duty status and other information about the trip for each 24-hour period while she is on the road. This information is required to be kept under FMCSR 395.8. Further, FMCSR 395.3 has hours of service requirements that can be checked against the log to determine if the driver was exceeding hour requirements. All documents responsive to these requirements should be requested.
Some of the information in the logbook could be very useful in crafting discovery for a Plaintiff. For example, FMCSR 395.8 requires the following to be included in the logbook:
- Date;
- Total miles driving for that day;
- Truck or tractor and trailer number;
- Name of Carrier;
- Driver’s signature/certification;
- 24 hour period starting time;
- Main office address;
- Remarks;
- Name of the co-driver;
- Total hours; and
- Shipping document numbers or name of shipper and commodity.
The logs books are sometimes hard to discover in cases which have been filed more than six months after the subject incident. The FMCSR at 395.8 only requires that the motor carrier maintain this information for six months.On Board Computer Printouts and/or Reports
Some tractors are equipped with on-board computers that monitor vehicle and driver performance and stores the information to later be uploaded into a larger system. This information is often used to generate reports of the performance of the driver, vehicle, and trip. Further, the technology of today allows these computers, if equipped with GPS, to monitor very specific details about the trip. This information can record the speed at any particular time, the location at any particular time, route traveled, any detours, average speed, time stopped and lots of other specific details. An onboard computer, with GPS capability, could be the Plaintiffs greatest rebuttal to the logbook’s record of events.
Bills of Lading
A bill of lading is a document that is required to be issued as a receipt of goods, evidence of title to the property being transported and as the contract of carriage setting forth the names of the contracting parties and the terms of the carriage. The Bill of Lading allows a party to ascertain the identity of the patients that contracted for the shipment.
Freight Bill
The freight bill contains much of the same information as the bill of lading. The freight bill also contains information on all the charges, the trailer number, the origin and destination terminals and special instructions to the driver for handling or delivering the load.
The benefits to discovery of the freight bill are three fold. First, the trailers and the tractors often have separate and distinct insurance policies. The freight bill will allow a party to determine the identity of the trailer and is a starting point for determining any separate policies. Second, the origination and terminus of the shipment could become important if course and scope are challenged. The issue of whether the driver was on a detour or a frolic would often be obvious by looking at the origination and terminus of the shipment. Finally, any special instructions regarding the shipment and handling of the shipment give rise to obvious issues regarding negligence and/or gross negligence.
Trip Report
This document is a detailed account of the entire trip for that particular haul. A trip report would contain facts about the trip. These facts include; date and place of beginning and end, driver’s name, truck equipment numbers, odometer readings, states traversed, monetary advances, fuel expenses and other expenses. This information can sometimes be taken from the on board computer or compiled from the drivers log and other documents.
Schedule from Motor Carrier
Sometimes motor carriers will provide a driver with the proposed schedule for the haul. This is used to convey to the driver where he/she is going and when he/she needs to be there. These documents can show if the motor carrier was encouraging the driver to exceed driving times or the maximum speed limits. Under the requirements of FMCSR 392.6, no motor carrier shall schedule a run nor permit nor require the operation of any commercial motor vehicle between points in such period of time as would necessitate the vehicle being operated at speeds greater than those prescribed by the jurisdictions in or through which the commercial motor vehicle is operated.
Driving Records
Driving records are required to be kept by Federal mandate to some extent. Any previous internal accident or investigation reports should also be requested regarding the subject driver.
Taking the time to draft an extensive and specific set of discovery on the seven categories set forth above will go a long way in establishing liability against the truck driver. Sometimes, this is the only avenue of recovery in a case. However, it is always prudent to conduct discovery on the issues of whether other potential defendants exist and if they are already in the lawsuit, whether they can held liable for the actions of the primary wrongdoer.
One way to extend liability to an entity that did not technically perform the wrongful conduct. drive the truck, hire the driver, or load the cargo, is to break down the technical barriers between the defendant and the wrongdoer to show that the wrongdoer was actually a part of the tortfeasor entity. There are two ways to go about this process. First, one can show the defendant(s) and the wrongdoer(s) are actually one in the same, under the doctrines of piercing the corporate veil known as single business enterprise and alter ego. Second, one can show the defendant(s) and the wrongdoer(s) were in something like a partnership in performing the conduct that caused the damages, under the doctrines of joint enterprise and joint venture.
If someone you know was injured or killed as the result of an 18-wheeler accident, tractor trailer accident, big rig incident, cement truck accident, or box truck accident encourage them to immediately contact a competent attorney for advice. It is extremely important to do this quickly to ensure that evidence is preserved, statements are taken, and the rights of all claimants are protected.
