A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study suggested that driver fatigue was a factor in 13% of commercial truck accidents. The causes are often more complex than the driver has spent too many hours behind the wheel. In North Texas, experienced Dallas truck accident attorneys use their knowledge and expertise to determine whether driver fatigue contributed to an accident and whether it is evidence of negligence.
If you have suffered injuries in a collision with a commercial truck operated by a drowsy driver, call Crowe Arnold & Majors, LLP, to speak with a lawyer about recovering the largest available damages award. Collectively, we have more than 65 years of experience in representing drivers and their passengers who have suffered serious injuries in truck accidents.
How Dallas truck accident lawyers connect fatigue to trucking company negligence
To prove negligence that gives an injured party a right to collect damages, a truck driver fatigue accident lawyer will first analyze the logbook and company records to assess how long they have been on the road. Commercial truck drivers cannot operate their vehicles for more than 11 hours over a 14-hour on-duty period as per federal and state regulations. The driver must also rest at least 10 hours between those 14-hour periods and cannot log more than 70 hours of on-duty time in any week.
Those 70 hours include all the time the driver spends behind the wheel plus time at loading and unloading stations and other job-related functions. A trucking company that forces a driver to exceed these limits exposes itself to claims of company negligence if the driver injures other parties in a fatigue-related accident.
A company might also be liable if they hire commercial vehicle operators who have known substance abuse problems or sleep disorders. They may also be liable if they require drivers to work during late evening hours or at times that conflict with the driver’s natural circadian sleep cycles.
An employer may be liable for truck driver negligence
The company that employs or contracts with a commercial truck operator cannot escape liability by claiming that an accident was caused solely by truck driver negligence. When faced with that claim, a driver fatigue truck accident attorney will use the facts and evidence to demonstrate that the driver was operating the truck within the course and scope of their regular duties and responsibilities. An injury caused by an employee, even if the reason is driver fatigue, is a risk that the company must assume. This is true even if the company did not coerce the driver into working long hours.
Evidence of truck driver fatigue is more easily recovered soon after an accident
In Texas, motorists who are injured in truck accidents caused by driver fatigue must file their lawsuits within two years of the date of the accident. However, records and other information showing driver fatigue can be more difficult to recover when an injured party waits too long to initiate a lawsuit. Therefore, an injured motorist’s best course of action is to contact our team of Dallas truck accident lawyers as soon as is possible after a collision with a commercial truck.
Contact our team of Dallas Truck Accident Lawyers for a free consultation
Please see our website or call the Dallas truck accident lawyers at Crowe Arnold Majors, LLP for a no-fee consultation after you have sustained losses and injuries in a collision with a commercial truck.
Our team has extensive experience with lawsuits involving commercial vehicle accidents and the risks that tired drivers and their employers take when operating those vehicles. We will use our knowledge and expertise to demonstrate negligence. We will fight to recover the largest available compensation that you deserve for your losses and injuries.
