Louisiana Truck Accident Attorneys

Baton Rouge Law Firm Protecting Victims of Commercial Trucking Accidents

The sheer magnitude of commercial trucks makes for catastrophic injuries and deaths when put in contact with regular passenger vehicles. Because our nation’s size and demand for products, 18-wheeler trucks heavily populate our busiest roads and highways. This massive presence puts many drivers at risk of colliding with them in an accident.

Recent years have seen a consistent amount of accidents, a staggering 400,000 accidents per year involving large and commercial trucks. While we need trucks to deliver products and connect our sporadic cities, there are also many regulations truck drivers do not follow that lead to wrongful injuries and deaths in innocent passenger vehicle drivers. If you were involved in a truck accident believed to have been caused by the truck driver, calling an experienced legal team to represent you in a suit for compensation is perhaps the most important move you can make.

Recent Truck Accident Statistics

In the most recent report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration from the summer of 2014, there were over 3,700 fatalities involving large trucks and buses. While this number is down from a spike in 2010, we can still see a steady hovering of a few thousand deaths each year.

• 2009: 3,380 deaths in fatal truck accidents
• 2010: 4,000 deaths in fatal truck accidents

Most speculate that these accidents occur because of truckers’ long hours and miles traveled. Truckers easily become fatigued, as it is their job to cover great distances and keep moving, and this fatigue contributes to listless driving and negligent decisions. Trucking regulations have countered this through rest requirements and logbooks, the fabrication thereof being punishable by law. Still, truckers and trucking companies make mistakes on the road that wrongfully put lives in danger, and when they do, it may be difficult to determine who exactly is at fault.

Parties That May Be Liable for a Trucking Accident

The first thing our legal team will do in representing a truck accident victim is begin an investigation into who may be responsible. This is crucial in building a case in favor of compensation. We begin with investigation by examining both the scene of the accident and the truck itself. We can obtain access to logbooks and work to verify or dispute their validity and we can confer with the vehicle’s electronic on-board recorders, which is something of a black box for trucks. Once we have compiled enough evidence, we can determine the party at fault.

Barring other complications or circumstances of the accident, the party at fault will likely be one of these three:

• Driver of the Truck
  Many accidents can be linked to negligent or reckless driving. He or she may be driving under the influence, traveling at an unsafe speed, distracted by a cell phone, have overlooked a malfunctioning part, or be driving at a dangerous level of fatigue.
• Trucking Company
  The accident may be the fault of the trucking company if they have conducted their business in an irresponsible manner. This could include improper maintenance, hiring drivers with questionable records, or encouraging drivers to work unreasonable hours.
• Truck Manufacturer
  Manufacturers can be held liable if they have withheld information from their consumers of parts about their functionality. Often manufacturers fail to perform the proper tests on parts such as brakes or tires that play a large role in vehicle safety.

Louisiana Truck Accident FAQ