Our Family of Lawyers Has Been Helping Injured People For Three Generations Since trucks may weigh 20 times more than standard cars and require much longer distances to stop, a truck accident could be catastrophic and potentially deadly. The risk of a collision may increase if truck drivers are intoxicated on the job, distracted, or unfit to operate their large vehicles.
If you were hurt in a truck crash, the insurance companies and others involved will likely be using experienced legal teams to try to avoid paying claims. You should have legal help defending your rights in the form of a Yonkers truck accident lawyer. Our accomplished personal injury attorneys with Tomkiel & Tomkiel should help you learn how to get the compensation you deserve.
Specific Laws that Apply to Trucks and Transportation Companies
Due to the potential danger tractor trailers and other trucks pose, both federal and state governments have enacted special laws governing the operation of these oversized vehicles and imposing certain safety requirements. Truck operators driving in Yonkers must comply with regulations implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and with regulations from the New York Department of Transportation.
These rules require drivers to undergo medical exams and drug testing, place limits on the number of hours a driver may complete per shift, mandate regular maintenance inspections and repairs, limit the weight of vehicles on the road, and more.
While the trucking regulations are designed to make it less dangerous for big rigs to share the streets with much smaller vehicles like cars and motorcycles, trucking companies may skimp on compliance with the rules to save time and money. A Yonkers truck accident lawyer should help you investigate trucking companies if you believe their recklessness caused your wreck.
The Risks of Drunk Truck Drivers
Since intoxication impairs a driver’s reflexes, their ability to operate their vehicle safely and make important decisions, Driver’s education typically teaches students about the dangers of intoxicated driving.
Driving while intoxicated becomes a potentially greater risk when the driver is operating a large truck. Large trucks such as tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, box trucks, and garbage trucks already pose a risk to others on the road due to their size.
Truck drivers must operate these large vehicles carefully and pay attention while behind the wheel. Even a completely sober driver may have difficulty controlling such a large vehicle.
Intoxicated Driving Laws
While a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level of .08 percent is considered legally intoxicated for a driver, commercial drivers have a lower BAC level of just .04 percent that they must not reach or surpass. Truck drivers are subject to this stricter intoxicated standard because of the risks an intoxicated driver poses while behind the wheel of a large vehicle. A drunk truck driver could face criminal penalties if they are arrested. An accomplished attorney should also help you pursue a civil liability case against an intoxicated truck driver.
Under federal law, intoxicated or drug-impaired truck drivers must be removed from service immediately. The driver may be subject to criminal penalties, and may even lose their commercial driver’s license. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration also requires trucking companies to test these employees prior to letting them back out on the road.
A trucking company may be held responsible for ensuring their driver passes an alcohol test before letting them return to work. If a trucking company improperly reinstates a driver with a history of driving while intoxicated, a truck accident attorney in Yonkers should help you hold the company responsible for any accidents the driver caused.
Work with an Experienced Yonkers Truck Accident Attorney
While the full extent of harm may not immediately be apparent and the first priority for an injured person should always be to seek medical attention, you should not wait too long before contacting an attorney after being in a truck accident. Time to file a claim is limited by law, and delays can also make it more difficult to locate and preserve valuable evidence.
If you are dealing with injuries from a truck crash, a Yonkers truck accident lawyer should fight to recover the full amount of compensation available under the law. Call Tomkiel & Tomkiel today to schedule a consultation and get started on your case.
