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About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Friday morning while driving to work, you probably think about the upcoming weekend. Some people are thinking about the activities they are planning with their kids. Others think about a Friday night dinner date with friends.
 

Now imagine how different your Friday morning would be if a distracted or careless driver blew through a red light and hit you. All your weekend plans, maybe even life-long plans, gone in a blink of an eye.

It was a frightening and fatal Friday morning for a driver in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA). One person died when a tractor-trailer collided with a mini-van at Northampton Boulevard and Burton Station Road, police said.

 
The tractor-trailer, was headed south on Northampton at about 1 a.m. when the driver ran a red light, striking the minivan. The driver of the mini-van died at the scene of the crash.  Police charged the tractor-trailer’s driver with disregarding a red light.

My sincere condolences go out to the family of the victim.  I hope that the family  finds a way to recover and move on. 

 Trucks are significantly heavier than cars. The power, size and weight of a commercial tractor-trailer make the impact of a truck collision much worse and the chance of serious injury and death much higher. The death rate for truck crashes is 50 percent higher than for car accidents, and many injuries may cause life-long disability and permanent or chronic health problems.

Why did the truck run the red light? Was he distracted, tired, on the cell phone?  We still don’t have the full details of what happened since the investigation remains active. But our trucking attorneys have experience with truck accidents just like this and we serve not only the Virginia Beach area, but the entire states of Virginia and North Carolina.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube  . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard  and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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If there was any doubt about the level of risk we all face while sharing the highway with big rigs and other large commercial trucks, the recent accident in Henrico County, Virginia (VA) illustrates what can happen when something goes wrong with a large commercial truck.

A big rig traveling down Interstate 64 (I-64) suddenly had a wheel base break off causing the massive truck tire to bounce across the highway eventually slamming into a minivan driven by Stephanie Bender, a resident of Colonial Heights, VA. She died at the scene on May 14, 2010 as a result, according to wtkr.com.  The truck was  owned by J.E. Liesfeld Contractor Inc. of Rockville, MD, State Police spokesman Sgt. Thomas J. Molnar said.  A company spokesman said that the wreck “very tragic” and said the cause appeared to be equipment failure — a tire seal ruptured, and friction caused the 200-pound tire set to come off the axle.  Under Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations governing commercial trucks, there are inspections required of such vehicles.  It is unclear at this time whether any failure of maintenance or inspection duties apply here.

Here is a news report about this fatal truck accident:
 
 
“The company is very upset this happened, it’s a tragic accident, and the company will do everything it can to assist the family in its time of need,” said Charles Ayers, corporate counsel to Liesfeld.  As a trucking injury attorney often working against trucking company’s, it is unclear to me what the attorney’s comment means in the context of any civil injury lawsuit that may be brought by her family members.

Stephanie Bender was survived by her husband, Terry Lee Bender, Jr, two daughters, her parents, and many brothers and sisters.  Her family has roots in the Macon/Dodge County, GA area.  Many of her co-workers at Capitol One, where she had previously worked, were stunned, and talked about her beautiful smile and the pride she took in her daughters and her family.

The disparity in size and weight between a commercial truck and compact cars, SUVs, and minivans is so great that even when the slightest error or malfunction occurs with a big rig or 18-wheeler, the damage can be catastrophic, especially for the driver and/or passenger(s) in those compact vehicles.

The VA Commercial Motor Vehicle Inspection Team is investigating what caused the tire to break off from the big rig, according to wtvr.com. They will determine if traffic/criminal charges should be filed against the truck driver since there’s a chance the big rig may have had mechanical defects which were overlooked or neglected leading to a death.  This is completely separate from any “wrongful death” civil lawsuit that may be available to the surviving family members.

It  was reported that over 200,000 trucks violate federal safety regulations, but are still operating on roads and highways all across the country. We’ll have to wait and see what the Inspection Team reports.

Regardless of the cause, I want to send my deepest sympathies to the Bender family. The pain of losing someone you love is always gut-wrenching, but it has to be even worse when the loss is so sudden. Mrs. Bender was only 36 years old.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Two men were killed in an accident involving a tractor trailer at the intersection of Ky. 1499 and U.S. 460. The accident investigation allegedly revealed the truck driver was knowingly operating the vehicle with bad brakes. As a result, the at-fault driver was charged with reckless homicide, according to the news-expressky.com.

The tractor trailer had 10 brakes, but only three were fully operational at the time of the wreck.

Trooper Shannon Jones received information that the tractor trailer driver used his CB radio to contact some local truck drivers minutes before the wreck, which proved the at-fault driver knew there was a problem with his truck.

“[The truck driver] was asking if there was any bad hills,” Jones said. “He told [the truck drivers] that his brakes were bad, that his brakes were no good.” This information is supported by other findings by accident investigators.

Hearing about these types of accidents is extremely frustrating because this tragedy could have been prevented. Two men are now dead because a truck driver wasn’t responsible enough to simply get his brakes fixed.

Our firm wrote about the high number of trucks, big rigs, 18-wheelers, tractor trailers, etc. on the road with defective or worn out brakes. In fact, the American Association of Justice discovered bad brakes were the most common safety violation on many commercial trucks.

The investigation of the fatal truck accident will continue and there may be even more revelations about this incident and the condition of the tractor trailer. The reckless homicide charge brought against the at-fault driver is a class D felony, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently approved a proposed rule by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that would require the use of electronic onboard recorders by certain commercial trucking companies. This new regulation will require trucking companies whose drivers have a record of violating current safety regulations, including hours-of-service rules, to use the recorders in tractor trailers, 18-wheelers, big rigs and all other trucks in their fleet.

This new rule comes on the heels of a texting ban for all truck drivers. Those who violate the texting rule face a fine of $2,750.

Some people in the trucking industry make look at these new regulations and complain about all of the oversight and restrictions. They may even describe an electronic onboard recorder as a violation of privacy. What they fail to realize is that these new regulations are designed to help save lives by reducing the number of truck crashes attributed to preventable actions like texting and/or an overworked trucker falling asleep at the wheel.

The data is as clear as day regarding the risks of texting and drowsy/overworked truck drivers. In 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed, and over 500,000 people were injured in accidents linked to distracted driving. When it comes to drowsy truckers, roughly 13 percent of all truck wrecks are due to tired truckers. Most of these truck drivers are drowsy and overworked because they violated the hours-of-service regulation which determines the number of hours a driver can operate a commercial truck. With the new electronic onboard recorder, instances of willful negligence should decrease.

Hopefully, when these new regulations are working in concert, we’ll see a precipitous drop in the number of truck wrecks in Virginia (especially those wrecks that can be prevented with proper oversight and responsible behavior from both trucking companies and drivers).

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Most people have little idea of just exactly how dangerous a tractor trailer can be. If you think about the simple physics regarding the size of an 18 wheeler then it becomes more clear how especially hazardous they can be when it comes to collisions and accidents.

For example, here are just a few numbers representing this danger:

I would like to point out that these statistics are alarming and even so, most folks have no idea of the danger.

* 98% of tractor-trailer-related fatalities involve the other vehicle’s driver or passengers – not the driver of the tractor-trailer.

*Big-Rig related fatalities are estimated at close to 5,000 people a year.

*18-wheelers accidents cause approximately 55,000 injuries a year

*An estimated 130,000 tractor trailer accidents occur each year without injury

Did you know that road conditions have very little to do with semi tractor trailer accidents?

It is a popular misconception that road conditions play a major role  in serious tractor-trailer accidents, when this is actually when  most truck drivers are especially careful and mindful of inclement weather or slick roads. The fact remains that this is not when the largest proportion of tractor-trailer accidents happen.

*Well over 80% of all tractor-trailer accidents occur on dry roads.

*Again, over 80% of big-rig accidents happen during perfectly normal weather conditions.

*Surprisingly, almost 70% of tractor-trailer accidents occur during broad daylight.

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An important provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act limits the hours truck drivers can operate a commercial tractor trailer, 18-wheeler, big rig, etc. The purpose of the law is to help reduce the number of truck accidents that stem from tired and/or fatigued truck drivers.

Our firm has written about tired truck driver accidents and the injuries that can result from these often horrific wrecks. Over 750 people lose their life and 20,000 people are seriously injured every year due to tired truck drivers, according to saferoads.org. Furthermore, a study conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board found that out of 107 truck wrecks, fatigue was a major factor in 75 percent of the accidents.

The Hours-of-Service law requires truck drivers to get rest and re-charge their batteries before hitting the road again.

Part 395 of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act states that no motor carrier company shall permit or require any driver to:

• Drive more than 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty
• Drive after the end of the 14th hour after coming on duty following 10 consecutive hours off duty

The regulations also state that no truck company shall permit or require a truck driver to operate a commercial truck after having been on duty for 60 hours in any period of 7 consecutive days if the truck driver does not operate a commercial truck every day of the week. If the truck driver operates a commercial vehicle every day of the week, then they can only be on duty for 70 hours in any period of 8 consecutive days.

Unfortunately, after a truck crash, it’s not unusual to uncover violations of the Hours-of-Service law. Commercial truck companies and drivers continuously push the envelope and go far beyond the allotted hours of service. Why? Because the more miles they drive, the more money they make.

This is why I believe we need to change our approach to regulating truck driver hours of service. There needs to be a shift in how truckers get paid so the incentive to break the law isn’t there. One idea would be to shift from miles-driven compensation to a salary payment system with bonuses paid to truck drivers who have clean driving records (no truck wrecks and no tickets) at the end of the fiscal year.

If that change is too dramatic, regulators should consider mandating every commercial truck company use an automatic on-board recording device which will log the hours a truck driver works. Under current law, it’s up to the truck company whether or not they use this type of device. If they forego this option, it’s up to the truck driver to manually log the hours they work. This is where problems occur since truck drivers may alter the hours they put in the log to ensure they get more time on the road to make more money. Regardless, it’s up to the truck company to enforce the Hours-of-Service regulations, but many don’t. In fact, some companies look the other way, or even encourage, their drivers to stay on the road longer than they should so more product gets to the proper destination. If regulations mandated an electronic on-board recording device, this type of abuse could decrease.

The one consistent theme is that things need to change in the trucking industry. The current regulations have good intentions, but there is too much wiggle room for neglect/abuse from the truck companies. 

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Just recently there was a very serious tractor trailer crash that occurred near Gainesville, Virginia (Va.) out along the westbound lanes of Interstate 66. The crash was significant enough to shut down traffic for well over an hour as highway patrol and emergency crews worked quickly to secure the immediate area.

As reported by authorities familiar to the tractor trailer crash, there was at least one person trapped in the wreckage. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Transportation stated that a medivac helicopter was called to the tractor trailer accident scene to assist in rapid transport of the critically injured. The 18-wheeler crash happened around 4pm at the 45.5 mile marker near the exit ramp to Va. 234 south.

Did you know that a tractor trailer truck cruising at 70mph will have double the energy on impact as a truck going only 50mph? Also, did you know that most cars like the ones you and I drive are designed under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to encounter similar sized vehicles, not an 80,000 lb behemoth called an 18-wheeler? Add to this hazardous mix the fact that semi-trucks do not have any rear or side bumpers and that they have such high front bumpers that they usually punch right into a car’s passenger compartment. Together these factors account for the high percentage of serious injuries and deaths in tractor trailer crashes.

If you or a loved one has been hurt from a commercial trucking accident, you need the experience of an attorney that knows how to protect your rights. You should know that big trucking companies have their own team of investigators and lawyers fighting for them, you need someone on your side. We can fight for your best interests to get you the justice that you deserve.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Some people envision truck accidents as a trucker on the rampage recklessly dominating a Virginia (VA) roadway like I-264 or I-64 and slamming into small  cars or mid-size SUVs. However, many truckers exercise safe driving practices and are actually the victims of reckless driving on the part of  car and SUV operators, and themselves suffer serious injuries.

If you’re a trucker and suffered a serious injury from a wreck, you also need to consider obtaining legal representation and commercial trucking companies do not proivde you a highly qualified injury attorney:  you are the decisionmaker.   Our attorneys are more than willing to represent an injured trucker who exercised responsibility and suffered an injury caused by a car, pickup truck, SUV, or another large truck (i.e. tractor trailer, 18-wheeler, big rig, etc.).

There are many scenarios where the trucker is not at fault for the accident. For example, a distracted driver operating a Toyota Corolla can cause serious damage to a truck if the driver is texting away on their cell phone and causes an intersection crash.   There are numerous cases where a car or SUV driver has “run” a red light and caused a serious wreck with a truck or big rig also.

Another common scenario is when a car is speeding on a highway like I-95 and fails to provide adequate space between their car and your truck, including a sudden lane change (this occus a lot heading towards the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel). The end result can be a major car/truck wreck with serious injuries. If you are a Virginia (VA) trucker or any CDL driver, you may  find yourself in this situation, and need an attorney who thoroughly understands injury law, especially both car and large truck regulations. Our attorneys possess over 100 years of combined legal experience and have handled literally hundreds of car accident cases, incuding countless truck crash cases.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now—we provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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