Tag: truck accidents

If someone else causes you to get hurt or suffer losses, all states have laws that allow you to get reimbursed, or “made whole.” These are known as compensatory damages, and they are designed to put you in a place as if the accident never happened in the first place. While most people would prefer to turn back time and never have to be involved in a wreck in the first place, we know that is not possible. That is why financial damages are the recourse, under New York personal injury laws.

In some situations, lawmakers have determined that compensatory damages are not enough. Instead, a plaintiff can obtain a different class of damages that serve a different purpose. These are known as punitive damages, and they are designed to punish the at-fault party for his/her conduct. Punitive damages are important to consider in truck accident cases, especially when injuries are severe and permanent.

Pursuant to New York state law, a plaintiff must prove “by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant against whom punitive damages are sought acted maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently or recklessly.” The legal standards to prove conduct are as follows:

• Maliciously: When someone is motivated by ill will, hatred or personal spite
• Intentionally: When a person’s conscious objective is to cause the result or engage in conduct that causes the result
• Fraudulently: When someone intentionally misrepresents a material fact or gives a false impression to mislead another and obtain an unfair advantage
• Recklessly: When someone is aware of but consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk, that would constitute a gross deviation from the standard of care that an ordinary person would exercise under the circumstances

Note that the legal standard for obtaining punitive damages, clear and convincing evidence, is different than the standard needed to prove negligence, which is a preponderance of the evidence. This is because punitive damages are designed as punishment against a bad actor – they are reserved for egregious conduct and are issued to put others in the community on notice that such conduct should not and will not be tolerated.

As noted above, punitive damages are reserved for the most egregious of conduct. The purpose of awarding these damages is to punish wrongdoing and tell others that we, as a community, will not stand for reckless or fraudulent conduct. Consider the following examples of when punitive damages can be awarded if you were hit by a truck in New York:

Drunk driving: Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is an easy example of recklessness. All drivers should know it is illegal. Under New York State law, you can be charged with DUI if you drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. For interstate truck drivers with a CDL, the established BAC level is 0.04% per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

Violations of trucking regulations: Interstate truck drivers must follow various guidelines on topics like truck maintenance, training, and hours of service. For example, hours of service regulations are designed to limit the number of consecutive hours in which a driver may work, in order to limit and reduce driver fatigue. What happens if one of these rules were broken, and they were done so intentionally? What if management specifically instructed drivers to drive as many consecutive hours as the possibly could, even if that meant breaking the hours of service rules? Instructions like these could meet the intentional standard.

Destruction of evidence: The fraudulent standard of care could be triggered by fraud or the knowing destruction of evidence. Assume you get into an accident and hire a truck accident attorney in Knoxville to begin fighting for your rights. One of the first steps should be to send a spoliation of evidence letter to the truck company and their insurer to demand preservation of relevant evidence, like dash cam footage or black box data. Assume they receive your letter and know the evidence is not in their favor, but in an effort to limit their liability, they immediately destroy these sources of evidence, which causes the data to be lost forever. In this situation, you can seek sanctions for purposely deleting critical evidence.

A HURT-511 personal injury lawyers help injured workers recover the benefits to which they are entitled by law. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, call us toll-free at 800-4878-511 or complete our online form. Our firm handles accident and injury claims throughout all five boroughs of New York.

HURT-511 operates in all boroughs of New York including all Bronx neighborhoods, namely: Bedford Park, Belmont, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Parkchester, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, University Heights and Woodlawn.

A truck driver was arrested in late March 2017 after driving from the Bronx to Long Island in New York under the influence of cocaine, LSD, and crystal methamphetamine. The driver was caught by police outside of his truck at a gas station. Police noticed he was locked out of the truck, acting combative, and showing signs of drug use. He then admitted to police that he had used drugs. Police subsequently arrested the trucker.

All states, including New York, have laws prohibiting driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs. The laws apply to all drivers, whether driving on the job or for personal use. In addition to state laws, commercial truck drivers must follow federal regulations adopted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).

These rules expressly prohibit driving while intoxicated. They also address prescription medication. For example, a driver cannot take a controlled substance or prescription medication without a prescription written by a licensed doctor or medical practitioner. There are certain medications that will prohibit a driver from being able to operate a truck under any circumstance.

After a truck or 18 wheeler crash, truck drivers may be subject to drug testing. Local law enforcement, including the police, sheriff’s department, or highway patrol, may decide to conduct its own drug testing of the defendant. Truckers believed to be under the influence of alcohol or another drug may be arrested at the scene and face criminal charges for their actions. There may be a criminal investigation before the District Attorney formally brings charges in criminal court.

Negligent truckers may also face civil liability in a truck accident case if they injure another driver, passenger, or pedestrian in the accident. While criminal and civil charges are separate, information in the criminal case file can be useful in civil court. This information includes the police report, witness statements, the defendant truck driver’s toxicology report, and any arrest affidavits.

While an alcohol toxicology report may be easy to interpret by looking at the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) level, intoxication levels of other drugs that test positive may be more difficult to interpret. In those cases, it may be necessary to retain a toxicologist as an expert witness. Toxicology experts can review drug test results in detail and testify to the defendant’s level of intoxication at the time of the truck accident.

Research shows it is not uncommon at all for a truck driver to be under the influence of alcohol, stimulants, or other medication behind the wheel. Some truckers take stimulants to stay awake behind the wheel, especially during long shifts. Stimulants most often consumed for this reason are alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis, and cocaine, per a study published in 2015. Research further indicates that when under the influence, commercial truck drivers are more likely to fall asleep or take unnecessary risks on the road. Both of these lead to an increase in car accidents.

Medication usage can be dangerous if a trucker is in poor health.  In a 2017 study published by the University of Utah Health Sciences, researchers found that poor health of trucker drivers directly contributed to truck accidents.  Medical conditions linked to poor driving performance include heart disease, low back pain, and diabetes.

Drivers with multiple conditions like these will see their risk of getting into an accident noticeably increase. Per the study, truck drivers are susceptible to developing poor health because they sit for long periods of time while driving, have trouble finding nutritious meals while out on the road, and deal with less than ideal sleeping conditions.

At HURT-511, our personal injury lawyers help injured workers recover the benefits to which they are entitled by law. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, call us toll-free at 800-4878-511 or complete our online form. Our firm handles accident and injury claims throughout all five boroughs of New York.

HURT-511 operates in all boroughs of New York including all Bronx neighborhoods, namely: Bedford Park, Belmont, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Parkchester, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, University Heights and Woodlawn.

Truck crashes are among the most severe types of accidents. When a truck collides with a passenger vehicle, severe injuries and fatalities are common. When a truck driver or trucking company is negligent in a crash, they are responsible for all damages resulting from the collision. Your damages may include your medical expenses, money for pain and suffering, and reimbursement for lost wages. In New York, the law limits the amount of money you can recover in a personal injury case in a few situations.

Punitive damages are only awarded in cases where there was gross negligence. Punitive damages are meant to punish the offender and deter them from committing the action again in the future. In regular negligence cases, the negligent party is responsible for damages. Gross negligence means that the party’s actions were beyond negligent. Punitive damages are not associated with economic reimbursement for expenses such as medical costs or lost wages. Punitive damages are also called exemplary damages.

In New York, the punitive damage award cannot exceed specific limitations. In general, the amount of punitive damages cannot be higher than two times the economic damages plus the amount of non-economic damages. The total cannot exceed $750,000. In medical malpractice cases, you may sue for all your economic damages with a cap on non-economic damages. The total recoverable damages are $500,000. Claims against governmental entities have a limit of $100,000 per person and $300,000 in a single occurrence.

Punitive damage limits are in place to deter people from recklessly endangering the public and committing extremely dangerous acts. When you are hurt due to the negligence of someone else, litigation is warranted, and damages are limited to compensatory damages.

Compensatory damages for a trucking accident would include such things as mental anguish, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and disability or disfigurement. You are entitled to receive compensation for damages that happened to you because of the negligent act.

Every case is different and has a unique set of facts. Your attorney will review your accident to determine the best way to proceed. Many personal injury cases are settled before they go to trial. A truck accident attorney in Houston will work on your behalf to gather evidence and negotiate a fair settlement. Only if a settlement cannot be reached will the matter proceed to court.

Your lawyer will work to get you the compensation you need for your economic and non-economic damages as well as provide proof of gross negligence where it applies. Injuries from truck accidents can be severe, and recovery can be a lengthy, ongoing process.

There may be information available to prove that the driver was grossly negligent or that the trucking company was extremely careless. Gross negligence in an 18 wheeler accident could be not correctly inspecting or maintaining their fleet when the dangerous condition was known and played a role in the crash.

At HURT-511, our personal injury lawyers help injured workers recover the benefits to which they are entitled by law. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, call us toll-free at 800-4878-511 or complete our online form. Our firm handles accident and injury claims throughout all five boroughs of New York.

HURT-511 operates in all boroughs of New York including all Bronx neighborhoods, namely: Bedford Park, Belmont, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Parkchester, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, University Heights and Woodlawn.

Every day we share our roads with large commercial trucks. Houston is a hub for trucks that deliver goods across the country. Large trucks have a gross vehicle weight of 10,000 pounds or more, as defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Many large 18-wheelers weigh as much as 80,000 pounds when filled with cargo, and easily outweigh passenger cars by 30 times. Large trucks are involved in an average of over 500,000 accidents a year across the country. Many of these accidents result in serious injuries or fatalities.

Many factors make big rigs dangerous to other drivers on the road. Trucks weigh much more than passenger vehicles, which makes braking slow. It may take 20 to 40 times longer for a big truck to come to a stop than a typical car. Large trucks cannot maneuver like smaller vehicles, and they have blind spots, even when they utilize mirrors. Drivers often work for many hours and drive long distances at a time, causing potential fatigue.

Fatigue can slow a driver’s response time considerably. Inexperienced drivers may have difficulty controlling a big loaded rig. Shifting cargo can make it impossible for a driver to stop a big rig from an accident. Some trucks carry hazardous materials that can spill or leak in an accident, creating a dangerous situation. Drivers that make mistakes or have judgment errors on the road can cause chain-reaction accidents.

There may be multiple causes and contributing factors in large truck accidents. There are three main categories of accident causes, including human error, mechanical failure, and external conditions. The most common causes of accidents are human errors. These include such things as improper lane changes, speeding, tailgating, failure to yield, distracted driving, and impairment. Of these, distracted driving is one of the most common factors that contribute to all accidents, including big rig crashes.

Distracted driving consists of a variety of actions such as eating or drinking, cell phone use, texting, and others. Truck drivers may be susceptible to distracted driving, especially when they travel for long periods on large highways. Drivers must adhere to laws that limit them to 11 hours of driving at a time. Mechanical failures can cause semi-truck crashes. The most common mechanical failures are brake malfunctions and tire blowouts. Road conditions such as heavy rain, fog, and road debris may make it more challenging to maneuver on the highway. Truck drivers must be especially careful to drive defensively and pay attention to other drivers and issues that could cause accidents.

Accidents with big rigs often result in severe injuries to the other drivers and passengers. Some of the most common injuries include traumatic brain injuries, head and back injuries, whiplash, broken bones, cuts and bruises, burns, and puncture wounds. Some severe injuries may be life-threatening, and the recovery may be lengthy and painful. The driver or trucking company may be found negligent in causing the accident. If you were hurt due to the negligence of another, you might be entitled to compensation for your injuries. You may be owed money for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.

At HURT-511, our personal injury lawyers help injured workers recover the benefits to which they are entitled by law. For a free consultation with an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer, call us toll-free at 800-4878-511 or complete our online form. Our firm handles accident and injury claims throughout all five boroughs of New York.

HURT-511 operates in all boroughs of New York including all Bronx neighborhoods, namely: Bedford Park, Belmont, Fordham, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Kingsbridge, Morris Park, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Parkchester, Riverdale, Spuyten Duyvil, Throgs Neck, University Heights and Woodlawn.