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Trucking Accidents

Truckers liable for crashes caused by fatigue

Michigan drivers share the road with commercial vehicles every day, and for the most part, these interactions are uneventful. However, all it takes is one trucker to violate one trucking regulation for an interaction to become deadly.

This can and does happen when a trucker violates federal Hours of Service regulations.

Backing up, we should explain that HOS regulations are in place to prevent fatigued driving by controlling the number of hours a trucker can be behind the wheel and when he or she must rest. Without them, truckers have the motivation to drive as long as possible to get to a destination as quickly as possible, leaving them vulnerable to extreme fatigue, which can be catastrophic.

For instance, recently a trucker was shut down after he drove onto a paved median and struck two people securing a boat onto a trailer. After causing the fatal crash, authorities discovered that he had been on the road for a whopping 103 hours over an eight-day period.

He had also caused another accident the day before, resulting in numerous injuries to passengers on a bus.

Citing the “egregious violation” of HOS regulations, the U.S. Department of Transportation shut down the trucker. However, the action came too late to prevent the two accidents he already caused.

Sadly, victims of these types of accidents and their families often learn too late that a trucker is not fit to be driving a massive commercial truck. In the case of a fatigued trucker, determining if a driver was drowsy or sleeping typically doesn’t happen until after a crash when authorities investigate and scrutinize driving records and log books.

This is why you must speak with an attorney in the wake of a serious truck accident. With legal support, your lawyer can work with the authorities to thoroughly investigate the accident and identify the negligent, reckless party liable for the crash, which is vital in building a successful legal claim.

While a lawsuit cannot undo the damage caused by a fatigued trucker, it can help victims and their families collect compensation to cover medical bills and other expenses and to acknowledge non-financial damages including pain and suffering.

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