TRUCK ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS IN NEW YORK
NEW YORK TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS
The highly experienced New York truck accident lawyers at the Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC have represented numerous personal injury victims who suffered personal injuries as a result of commercial truck accidents in New York. An accident with a truck can be devastating and often results in serious, often catastrophic personal injury and even death. From our New York City office, our New York truck accident lawyers have taken on the Wall Street firms, Insurance Companies and the commercial trucking companies. Our New York truck accident lawyers are experienced and knowledgeable about the mechanics of trucks and work closely with accident reconstruction experts on a regular basis. We know the trucks and the industry. We have handled cases involving box trucks, tractor trailers, delivery trucks, sanitation trucks, dump trucks, semi trailers, 18 wheelers, construction trucks and work vans. Our attorneys have litigated truck accidents all over New York State including Rockland and New York City (Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Staten Island and Queens).
If you were injured in a truck accident in New York or if a family member suffered a wrongful death because of the negligence of a truck driver our New York truck accident lawyers can help you get the justice you deserve. Call (212) 858-0503 to speak with a New York City truck accident lawyer or (914) 574-8330 to speak with a Westchester truck accident attorney, right away. We offer Free Initial Consultation to clients.
Our New York truck accident lawyers know how to uncover the truth about how accidents happened. Our truck accident lawyers are familiar with the applicable federal trucking laws, which provide powerful tools for trial lawyers. Under the Federal Motor Carrier Statute trucking companies are required to maintain records of their truck drivers including their prior safety performance, qualifications, prior accidents, drug and alcohol tests, and prior moving violations. Our New York truck accident lawyers know exactly what documents trucking companies are required by law to maintain, and we know how to get them. If you have been in a trucking accident in New York City, NY, or Westchester, NY, contact a New York truck accident lawyer right away. Our personal injury attorneys in White Plains and New York City, NY, can represent clients in all kinds of accidents involving commercial rigs, municipal trucks, big rigs, box trucks, tractor trailers and other trucks. Call us at (212) 858-0503 or (914) 574-8330 for a Free Initial Consultation.
The most common causes of truck accidents include
- Truck Driver Error
- Unqualified Drivers
- Truck Driver Fatigue
- Rollover Accidents
- Truck Sway
- Jackknife Accidents
- Improper Stowage, Unsecure and Unstable Loads
- Overloaded Trucks
- Pedestrians hit by Trucks
TRUCK DRIVER ERROR
Our New York truck accident lawyers know that errors by truck drivers remains one of the leading causes of accidents with commercial trucks. The damage done by commercial trucks can be immense. Trucks are extremely heavy and have tremendous momentum that can crush and shred anything that they come in contact. Even momentary lapses in judgment can have catastrophic results when a car is involved in an accident with a commercial truck, such as an 18 wheeler or box truck. If you suffered an injury in an accident with a big rig, call our New York truck accident lawyers for a free consultation.
UNQUALIFIED DRIVERS
Even though the Federal Motor Carrier Statute has strict regulations concerning the qualifications of drivers, commercial trucking companies have been known to cut corners and employ drivers that simply should not be driving commercial trucks. With less and less people applying to be truck drivers, these commercial trucking companies are looking the other way and hiring people that are not qualified.
Among the requirements for operating a commercial truck, the driver must have a valid health certificate issued by a physician. The driver must not have a history of illness which can cause drowsiness, fainting or seizures. Drivers cannot even take prescription medication unless the physician has certified that the medication will not cause drowsiness. There are many truck drivers on the road with medical conditions that disqualify them from driving trucks. Unqualified drivers who have been less than honest to examining doctors are accidents waiting to happen.
TRUCK DRIVER FATIGUE
Our New York truck accident lawyers know that truck driver fatigue continues to be a cause of accidents resulting in serious personal injury and death in New York State. The pressure to deliver loads continues to cause drivers to push the envelope and take unnecessary risks, all in the name of making a profit. Also inadequate rest periods between shits and irregular sleep schedules caused by shifting work schedules can all be contributing factors to driver fatigue.
This is the reason that the Federal Motor Carrier Statute has strict hours of service requirements. There are limits on the amount of hours that drivers can operate a truck continuously and there are required break periods to make sure that drivers remain alert. There are also limits on the amount of hours a driver can work in a week. Violations of these regulations helps establish that the driver was at fault and are strong evidence that the accident occurred because of driver fatigue.
If the driver of a commercial rig is fatigued, that impairs their ability to observe traffic conditions, react to changing circumstances and keep the rig under control. If you suspect that you were injured in a truck accident because the truck driver was suffering from fatigue, call our New York truck accident attorneys.
The physical condition of the truck driver also can be a contributing factor to truck accidents. According to a study by the U.S. Department of Transportation, truck drivers who had sleep apnea, were involved in 78% of the at fault accidents where they violated a vehicle and traffic law. This is not surprising, since untreated sleep apnea, causes drowsiness, which reduces reaction time and concentration. Our New York truck accident lawyers know what questions to ask truck drivers during depositions to get the evidence to show that the truck driver was at fault for the accident. Call our New York truck accident attorneys, who know how to win truck accident cases.
ROLL OVER ACCIDENTS
Because trucks have a high center or gravity and can have shifting loads, when they enter a curve or curved roadway, there are forces that can push the truck's trailer in an unexpected manner. The truck speed is also an important factor. Therefore trucks entering and exiting curves need to make adjustments to their speed to accommodate and reduce the effect of these forces. Also the company's employees who load the trucks need to take into consideration how the load is distributed within the trailer. If you suffered personal injuries in a truck accident, call our New York truck accident attorneys.
NEGLIGENT MAINTENANCE- TIRE BLOW OUT CASES
Our New York truck accident lawyers know that when a tractor-trailer tire blows out, it can explode with deadly force, sending debris onto the roadway and causing a driver to lose control of his or her vehicle. As a result, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations prohibit operating a semi or other commercial vehicle with improperly inflated tires, exposed belt material, tread separation, or any evidence of excessively worn or leaking tires. Despite these safety rules, 18-wheeler blowouts happen on roadways across New York every day.
These events can be caused by many factors, including poor truck maintenance, failure to properly inspect the semi, overloaded commercial vehicles, worn tires, manufacturing defects, excessive heat, and more. For example, an overweight load can place undue stress on tires and make them likely to fail.
When tractor-trailer tires are not properly maintained or inspected, the owner of the vehicle and its driver often may be held responsible for any injuries or fatalities that occur as a result of a crash. This usually requires proving the four elements of a negligence claim: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Truck drivers and trucking companies are required to operate their vehicles with reasonable care, which includes heeding all of the regulations imposed on them. Any violation of these rules, or other unsafe conduct, may be considered a breach of this duty. If the trucking companies followed regulations and employed a reasonable maintenance protocol, these types of truck accidents would not happen. If you sustained personal injuries in a truck accident because of a tire blow out, call our New York truck accident lawyers for a free consultation.
TRAILER SWAY
Trucks with tractors have a natural sway where when the truck moves right or left the path of the tractor sways. This phenomenon is responsible for numerous accidents which involve the trailer crossing into the lane of other cars and oncoming vehicles. This phenomenon can be increased by the prevalence of double trailer trucks. If you suffered personal injuries because a trailer swayed into your lane, call our New York truck accident lawyers.
UNSECURED AND UNSTABLE LOADS
An unsecured or unstable load can cause the load to shift and thereby result in unexpected forces and weight distributions in the truck which can result in roll overs, jackknife accidents and even a total loss of control. Another problem with loads that are not properly secured on flatbed, pick up, dump trucks or open bed trucks are items falling onto the roadway and striking another vehicle. These accidents happen in the blink of an eye and can result in drivers of vehicles behind the truck taking sudden evasive actions thereby hitting other cars or guard rails. They can also result in the driver being impaled.
If you were injured in a truck accident in New York City (Bronx, Staten Island, Bronx, Manhattan and Brooklyn), we can meet you in our New York City Office. If you were injured in Croton, Hastings, Bronxville, Ossining, Port Chester, Mamaroneck, Rye, Scarsdale, Hartsdale, Yonkers or New Rochelle, our experienced New York truck accident lawyers can meet with you in our downtown New York office. Call (212) 858-0503 to speak with our New York City truck accident lawyer right away.
- New York Truck Accidents- Distracted Drivers
- Overweight/Overloaded Trucks
- Truck Driver Fatigue
- Blowouts and Faulty Tires
- Braking Ability
- Falling Debris
TRUCK ACCIDENTS AND PEDESTRIAN FATALITIES
Our New York truck accident lawyers know all too well how seriously a pedestrian can be injured when they are hit by a truck. Pedestrians hit by trucks, especially turning trucks, continue to be a major cause of personal injuries in New York City. Our New York City truck accident lawyers have seen case after case, where the driver states they didn't see the pedestrian or they claim the pedestrian walked into the side of the truck, even though they didn't actually see what happened. The fact that trucks have blind spots, it not a defense, because New York City requires that all commercial vehicles have cross over mirrors in the front cab of the truck, which allows the driver of a truck to see anyone who is three feet tall and is passing within one front of the vehicle.
Our New York truck accident lawyers know that all commercial truck drivers are required to keep a proper look out and New York City law mandates that commercial truck drivers have the necessary equipment to be able to see pedestrians.
According to the Federal Motor carrier Safety Administration, on Average, 255 pedestrians are killed each year from being hit by heavy commercial trucks. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY ABOUT US
Whether you are a commerical truck driver that suffered a personal injury in an accident or were injured in an accident with a commercial truck, our New York truck accident lawyers have the experience to handle your case.
Mr Joseph is a great Lawyer he represented me in my truck accident he always would call me to keep me up with info on my case and when I called his office he got back to me right away he got me a great settlement I highly recommend him and would hire him again John N. Commercial truck driver
ACCORDING TO THE NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
In 2019, trucks were disproportionately represented in traffic fatalities – 44 people were killed in collisions with truck.s NYPD
TRUCK ACCIDENTS ON PARKWAYS Trucks Do Not Belong on Parkways.
Our New York truck accident attorneys know that in recent years, there has been an increase in truck accidents on parkways, both in New York City and in Westchester. Several highly publicized accidents occurred when commercial trucks hit low overpasses. The reality is that these accidents should never occur because New York law prohibits commercial trucks from driving on Parkways in the first place,
Our New York truck accident lawyers know that the spike in accidents on parkway is occurring because parkways have low overpasses and bridges that simply don't have sufficient clearance for large trucks to pass. Our New York truck accident attorneys know that most of the major parkways have warnings to alert truck drivers that there are low overpasses and to exit the parkway at exits before the parkway passes under a bridge.
One of the major causes of these increased accidents with trucks on parkways, is truck drivers using GPS devices, without the truck settings, that avoid parkways and keep big rigs on the major expressways and interstate highways. In New York City, the City also publishes maps and has interactive maps so that truck drivers know what routes they are allowed to take. Our New York City truck accident attorneys, know that if you were injured by a truck on a parkway, the truck driver was negligent because they should not have been on a parkway in the first place.
Another major cause of truck accidents on parkways are sideswipe or drifting trailer accidents. In general parkways have more narrow lanes of travel and less gradual and sharper turns, when compared to expressways. In other words, these parkways were not designed to accommodate big rigs and commercial trucks, which increases the likelihood that the truck will cross into the lane of a driver or the trailer will sway into another lane.
CONTACT OUR NEW YORK TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS OFFICES IN WESTCHESTER AND MANHATTAN
EMAIL: Michael@newyorktriallawyers.org
New York City Office: 212-858-0503
Westchester Office: 914-574-8330
New York City Office: 212-858-0503
Westchester Office: 914-574-8330
Call Us First.
TRUCK ACCIDENT STATISTICS
Eleven percent of all auto accident fatalities involved a commercial truck, i.e. a big rig.
There are over four thousand deaths per year from truck accidents. More than half of the deaths are from occupants of cars. Approximately fifteen percent of the deaths in truck accidents are pedestrians or bicyclists. Institute Highway Safety
