Driving a truck can be physically and mentally exhausting. Tired drivers are prone to mistakes, and fatigue is often a factor in truck crashes.
If you were severely injured in a truck crash, you need an experienced semi-truck wreck attorney to help you get fair compensation. At Kramer Injury Law, we can help you pursue compensation claims against fatigued truck drivers in West Jordan accidents.
Strict Working Hours Rules Apply to Truckers
A truck poses a significant danger to others on the roadway if it gets into an accident. Federal regulations govern many aspects of the trucking industry to maintain and improve safety.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration restricts working hours for commercial truckers to prevent fatigued truck drivers from causing wrecks. Truckers can drive a maximum of ten hours per day, must take periodic breaks, and cannot exceed a specific number of on-duty hours in a week.
Truck drivers might violate the working hours rules to meet their schedules. Our West Jordan fatigued truck collision attorneys could review the trucker’s log and the vehicle’s Event Data Recorder to confirm that the driver obeyed the work hours rules. If not, the violation is evidence that the trucker and trucking company were negligent.
Who Is Liable When a Fatigued Trucker Causes a Wreck?
Commercial truckers are responsible for using the utmost care on the road. When they violate a safety rule or regulation, they are responsible for the losses you suffered because of the trucker’s negligence. Even when they followed the work hours rules, illness or stress could cause a trucker to become tired. When this happens, the driver should pull off the road and get rest.
When a trucker causes an accident, their employer is responsible for the harm they cause while doing their job. You can bring a claim against the trucker’s employer for the losses you suffered in the crash. Commercial trucking companies must carry substantial insurance coverage to ensure that severely injured people receive adequate compensation.
Sometimes our skilled attorneys determine that truck driver fatigue is not the only reason for a West Jordan truck wreck. Additional potentially responsible parties could include:
- Other drivers
- The manufacturers of the truck
- The company that loaded the truck
- The local government where the crash occurred
We will bring claims against any party with a role in the crash to ensure you receive fair compensation.
Potential Damages for Truck Accident Injuries
When you are harmed by another party’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation of all your losses. The compensation you receive in a legal matter is called your damages.
You can claim your current and future injury-related expenses, like medical treatment and incidental costs. The responsible parties must reimburse your lost income, and if your injuries prevent you from returning to work, they must pay for your diminished future earning capacity. You are also entitled to damages for your pain and suffering.
Utah Code § 78B-5-818 establishes comparative negligence, which means that everyone involved in the accident must pay damages according to their degree of fault. If you are partly to blame, you cannot collect 100 percent of your damages. After a big rig crash involving a fatigued driver, our West Jordan attorneys could ensure that the other parties do not shift blame to you to reduce their obligation.
Seek Damages for a Fatigued Trucker Crash With a West Jordan Attorney
When you get into a collision with a truck, the trucking company will have a team of people defending it. You need an experienced professional working for you to ensure you get a fair deal. Kramer Injury Law pursues claims against fatigued truck drivers in West Jordan accidents, so contact us today.
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