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  • Home
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    • Lee Hoffoss
    • Cooper Fournet
    • Donald McKnight
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    • Joe Norman
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  • Personal Injury
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      • Car Accidents
      • Truck Accidents
      • Motorcycle Accidents
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Lee Hoffoss

The Main Causes of Commercial Truck Accidents

May 16, 2018 by Lee Hoffoss

Trucks Driving on Highway
While a variety of factors contribute to big-rig trucking accidents, many of these are largely preventable. A large truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, depending on whether it is loaded or empty. The cargo in the truck could also be hazardous, resulting in additional injury in the event of an accident. The United States Department of Transportation estimates that there are over half a million truck accidents each and every year.
The number of fatalities from truck accidents vary from year to year. However, in 2010, 3,413 people died in accidents involving large commercial trucks. Seventy-two percent of these deaths were occupants in another vehicle, 13 percent were those on motorcycles, bicycles or pedestrians, and 14 percent of the fatalities were truck drivers. While large commercial trucks accounted for 4 percent of the registered vehicles on the roadways, they accounted for 9 percent of collision deaths.
While it is widely believed that driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs on the part of the truck driver is responsible for many commercial truck accidents, in fact, statistics do not bear this out. Only a small portion—between one and three percent of the total truck accident fatalities are the result of drugs or alcohol.

Primary Factors in Trucking Accidents

Driver fatigue is one of the top reasons for trucking accidents. Although there are federal regulations in place which spell out the maximum number of hours drivers can legally drive, many times these laws are circumvented by drivers who are pushed into driving impossible hours by a trucking company whose biggest concern is their financial bottom line. It is estimated that at least 13 percent of the trucking accidents in the United States are caused by driver fatigue. This number is likely much higher because most drivers would not want to admit they fell asleep at the wheel or were overly fatigued.

Distracted Driving

Just as with regular auto accidents, distraction has moved steadily up the ladder to become a major factor in trucking accidents, accounting for 18 percent or more of commercial truck accidents. Distraction comes in many forms; visual distraction occurs when a person takes their eyes from the road to look at their cell phone screen, looks at the radio or GPS or looks at a passenger or child in the vehicle.  Manual distraction occurs when the hands are off the wheel, engaged in another task. Truck drivers are well known for eating while driving, meaning their hands are engaged in something other than driving.
Cognitive distractions occur when a person is thinking about something other the road ahead and the cars around them, or when they have the radio up at full blast, oblivious to the potential hazards around them. Cell phone use involves all three types of distraction, which is why it is particularly dangerous.  Despite the fact that more and more cell phone driving laws are being implemented, it is still estimated that at any given moment thousands of drivers are using a cell phone, whether talking or texting.

Truck Jackknife

When a trucker suddenly slams on the brakes of the truck, the trailer momentum does not slow at the same speed as the attached truck, causing the trailer to swing out and “jackknife.” You can imagine how dangerous such an accident would be to the vehicles around the truck, even in relatively light traffic. Jackknifes can also occur from brakes which are poorly adjusted, improper downshifting, turning too quickly or accelerating on slick surfaces.

Inexperienced Truck Drivers

Since most truckers are required to a thorough training program, we tend to think that they are fully trained and experienced from the moment they get behind the wheel of their truck. Like most things in life, however, there is a steep learning curve regarding driving an 18-wheeler. It is no easy feat to maneuver a huge vehicle which can be loaded with difficult or even hazardous loads. Drivers are generally given specific instructions on maintaining their trucks, securing their loads and how the different loads can increase the chances of accidents occurring. Truckers must learn how to handle these huge vehicles no matter the weather conditions, the heaviness of traffic, or time of day. Those who will carry toxic waste or hazardous materials will need even more training.

Lack of Vehicle Maintenance

The companies who operate the 18-wheelers which travel across our nation are responsible for ensuring their fleets are well-maintained. Drivers bear the responsibility for regularly inspecting their vehicles, especially the tires and brakes before driving on public roads. Any accident caused by malfunctioning equipment which can be traced to poor vehicle maintenance can place the liability for the accident squarely on the maintenance company.

Contact Us

The Lake Charles, Louisiana personal injury attorneys of Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers have extensive experience with trucking accidents and can determine the appropriate course of action to assist victims of truck accidents in receiving equitable compensation for their injuries. It is very important that you speak to a Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers attorney as quickly as possible following your accident to ensure your rights are fully protected prior to settling your truck accident claim.

Filed Under: ATV accident, Bus Accident, Commercial Vehicle Accident, Motor Vehicle Accidents

Summer Road Trip Safety Tips

May 14, 2018 by Lee Hoffoss

Tips for Driving in the Summer

It is expected that as summer arrives, more than one-third of all Americans will take a family vacation which is 50 miles or more away from their home. Although gas prices are edging up, many of those vacations will be taken in the family car. A summer road trip can result in memories which last for a lifetime; national parks, theme parks, and beaches are the most popular destinations for family road trips. Mapping out your route in advance is crucial to ensuring you stay on course and safe on your trip. Triple-A recommends that you plan frequent stops—about every two hours to ensure the driver remains alert, and to give passengers an opportunity to stretch their legs or have a drink and a snack.
[Read more…] about Summer Road Trip Safety Tips

Filed Under: car accident

Republicans Eye Trucker Deregulation

December 16, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

GOP lawmakers in Washington recently blocked some truck driver fatigue rules, and safety advocates feel that bold move may be just the beginning.
Previously, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued rules that require truckers to take at least two consecutive nights off if they work more than 75 hours in any one week, and also requiring that at least part of that rest period be between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. But Congressional Republicans added a provision to a must-pass spending bill that prevents these rules from going into effect. Furthermore, with the GOP in control of the presidency and both houses of Congress beginning in January, shipping industry lobbyists plan to push legislation allowing large trucks to be longer and heavier than ever before. While some advocates, like Joan Claybrook, feel that shipping companies “don’t care about safety no matter what they say,” both truckers and owners have consistently fought such regulations, saying they are intrusive and may stifle innovation in the area of driverless trucks. [Read more…] about Republicans Eye Trucker Deregulation

Filed Under: Truck Accidents, Uncategorized Tagged With: 18-Wheeler Accident, Motor Vehicle Accident, Negligence

The Year Of Living Dangerously

December 14, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

F Troop officers erected thirty-five human silhouette cutouts near their headquarters on State Highway 594, one for each fatal car crash victim in the group’s twelve parish area in 2016.
Troopers lament that there will probably be more victims before year’s end, because there are usually several fatal car crashes in December. The figures include a child-size cutout to represent an infant victim, and two that wear badges, representing law enforcement officers from Winnsboro and Sterlington who died this year in car crashes. Typically, the officers erect a similar display inside the building, but they felt it might have more of an impact in a more visible location.
“There’s 35 families that are missing a family member because of a fatal car crash,” observed Troop F information director Michael Reichardt. [Read more…] about The Year Of Living Dangerously

Filed Under: Distracted Driving, Uncategorized Tagged With: car wreck, drunk driving, Medical Expenses

Drunk Driver Sentenced For 2015 Fatal Crash

December 12, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

15th Judicial District Judge David Smith sentenced a 25-year-old Lafayette man to twelve years in prison, following a February 2015 drunk driving crash in which he destroyed two vehicles and killed one person.
Police and witnesses state that Bryan Chapman was heavily intoxicated and driving at least 100mph when he smashed into 66-year-old Carol Ann Richard’s vehicle near the intersection of Halifax Drive and Moss Street. The force of the impact propelled Ms. Richard’s burning car into another vehicle, causing it to topple over. Mr. Chapman pleaded guilty in July 2015, and he has remained in the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center since then. At the sentencing hearing, Mr. Chapman’s parents asked for leniency, because they say he is remorseful, has been completely sober since the drunk driving crash, and is a good caregiver to his disabled sister. At the same hearing, witnesses testified through tears about Ms. Richard’s career with the school district and giving spirit. Judge Smith announced that Mr. Chapman must “carry on [that] tradition of giving” after his release from prison, by speaking once a month for twelve months in sobriety court and performing 250 hours of community service at an alcohol counseling center for young people. [Read more…] about Drunk Driver Sentenced For 2015 Fatal Crash

Filed Under: car accident, Uncategorized Tagged With: drunk driving, Fatal Accident, Wrongful Death

The Bayou State: A Not-So-Great Place To Work

December 9, 2016 by Lee Hoffoss

According to one metric, which we posted about earlier, Louisiana workplaces are among the safest ones in the country. But according to another survey, the Bayou State is almost literally a deathtrap for workplace injuries.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reported that only Arkansas has a higher workplace death rate than Louisiana’s 6.8 incidents per 100,000 workers. In general, most all states in the Southeast have job injury death rates that well exceed the national average, which is 3.8 per 100,000. Motor vehicle crashes and other transportation incidents are the leading cause of workplace death in Louisiana and elsewhere, followed by contact with equipment or objects, workplace violence, falls, and exposure to hazardous substances.
Study authors suggested that more research go into the causes of, and solutions for, fatal workplace injuries.
Compensation for Fatal Workplace Injuries
No amount of money can begin to compensate for the loss of a loved one, but the money available through the workers’ compensation system at least provides a little extra economic security. Since that is one of the biggest reasons the departed loved one went to work every day, that added security is a good way to honor the decedent’s memory.
There are two types of fatal workplace injuries: persons who die almost immediately because of their injuries, and persons who are seriously injured and succumb to their work-related injury or illness within two years. In both these instances, surviving spouses and children typically receive a weekly stipend based on the decedent’s contributions during the past twelve months; if there are no surviving spouses or dependents, each surviving parent usually receives a $75,000 lump sum payment. In all these cases, workers’ compensation also pays all funeral and burial expenses up to $8,500.
Workers’ Compensation System
When these laws first appeared about a hundred years ago, injured workers rather quickly received substantial compensation for their economic losses, thus offsetting the fact that they could not sue for noneconomic damages, because of the “exclusive remedy” doctrine. But over the years, benefits incrementally went down and the time required to process workplace injury claims incrementally went up.
As a result, some victims are challenging workers’ compensation systems. The Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that a key attorneys’ fee provision was unconstitutional, because it effectively denied victims competent representation in these matters.
Such reform movements have not yet come to Louisiana, because on balance, benefits are sufficient to get workplace injury victims healed and back to work in a reasonable amount of time. But as the Florida case illustrates, only an aggressive attorney gives victims a fair chance when they go up against large insurance companies, whether it is in a negligence trial or at a workers’ compensation hearing.
Employers must pay compensation when their workers are injured or killed on the job. For a free consultation with Lee Hoffoss or another experienced personal injury attorney in Lake Charles, contact Lee Hoffoss Injury Lawyers. After hours appointments are available.

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Worker's Compensation Tagged With: Worker's Compensation, Workplace Injury, Wrongful Death

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