Tractor-Trailer Accidents | InjuryBoard Nashville

Yesterday was my first post on the ten most important rules to know about a truck accident case . Today , it is drug and alcohol testing issues . C.F.R. Section 382.303 provides the rules on post accident drug and alcohol testing . The rule requires as soon as practicable following an accident involving a commerical vehicle the driver shall test for alcohol under certain...

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act has over 1,000 rules and regulations that govern the tractor trailers that drive on the interstate highway system . However , there are only ten key laws that an attorney should know backwards and forwards in an truck accident lawsuit . In the next few posts , I will mention these top rules . The first one is 49 C.F.R. Section 387...

One mistake made in truck accident cases is failing to move forward on the case quickly . A trucking company is only required to keep the bulk of its records for a very limited time . Driver logbooks are only required to be kept for a period of six months . The logbooks are important if you are claiming driver fatique . The destruction of these records are commonplace in the...

Yesterday , a tanker truck overturned on Briley Parkway here in Nashville , Tennessee (TN) . The tanker truck overturned for some unknown reason killing the driver. I do not know what the tanker was hauling , but I could see the black smoke as I was heading home from work . Briley Parkway was closed for four hours while the truck accident was cleared . Tanker trucks are more prone...

This is a follow up post on the recent court ruling on hours- of- service for tractor trailer trucks . I wrote on the Federal Court overturning the the rule increasing the hours that a driver can drive at one time . The Court found fault on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration 's (FMCSA) model for failing to deal with the problem of the added fatique on drivers as a...

In my last couple of posts on Tractor Trailer Accident Cases , I have been discussing problems to avoid in your case . Honesty with your attorney and during the discovery phase of your case is the most critical issue . Once you sue a trucking company , they will put your life under a microscope . The insurance company will dig up every dirty detail of your life in an...

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Bush Administration change in the hours permitted to operate tractor trailer trucks . The Bush adminstration changed the laws to help their friends in the trucking industry . The law was changed to allow truckers to drive 11 hours per day instead 10 hours . The ten hour requirement has been the law for years . Every one who takes a...

Last week , I started writing about some mistakes to avoid in handling a truck accident case . You must have a expert witness who specializes in big trucks . This is an critical because the braking systems , steering systems and electronic information systems of the trucks are far different than that of a passenger car . The Trucking Company will have the best experts that money...

On Monday , I was beginning to write about mistakes that lawyers make in truck accident cases until I wrote about the arbitration abuses . One mistake plaintiff's lawyers make is simply reviewing the accident report and getting your client's side of the story . You must be prepared on all details of the accident including a complete review of an engineering analysis by a...

Recently, I attended the American Association for Justice annual convention in Chicago . One of the seminars I attended was put on by the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group . It was a great learning experience on these unique cases . So , I thought I would share some of the biggest mistakes made by attorneys in truck accident cases . The first mistake made is not starting...

One function of government is to insure and protect the safety of it's citizens . Trucking companies that ignore the safety rules should be watched , fined , or shut down .The public needs these trucks to transport the goods we need and the majority of the truck drivers are lawabiding folks . What should the government do ? Recently , the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration...

Today , the Tennessee Department of Safety wraps up intense safety inspections that have lasted the past 72 hours . The purpose was to reduce the number of unsafe trucks and drivers on the roadways . Since Tuesday , the Tennessee Highway Patrol has been conducting safety checks around the clock . The inspections also act to reduce the number of accidents involving commerical trucks...

The buzz word today is that many people apply the word frivolous lawsuit to most personal injury lawsuits . Frivolous is defined as having little value or importance . Recently , Injuryboard made me aware of a lawsuit filed in Wahington D.C. for 65 million dollars over a pair of pants that a dry cleaner damaged . The person that filed it was reported to be a magistrate . This...

Earlier this week , I wrote about the filing of the complaint . The filing of the complaint is the first step . After you file the case , the defendant must be served with a copy of the lawsuit . This is called service of process . There are several ways to do this and I will discuss this in another post . Once the defendant has beed served , they have 30 days in which to file their...

When someone looks for an attorney to handle their accident or wrongful death case, you have many choices of attorneys . In Nashville and thoughout Tennessee , there are some great lawyers to handle your case , but who do you hire. Personal service is one of the areas that sets our office apart from others. I personally meet and handle all the cases that our office accepts . We...