Negligent Service, Maintenance or Repairs of Trucks. Truck Accidents
Truck Accident Lawyers Serving Injured Victims in New York Truck Accidents
Every year, people suffer injury in truck accidents caused by failure to adequately maintain, repair, or service a truck. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires every motor carrier to regularly inspect, repair, and maintain all motor vehicles in their fleet. Under these rules, it is illegal to operate a truck if the vehicle may cause a breakdown or accident. In spite of these rules, serious accidents continue to occur due to negligent service, maintenance, and repairs of trucks.
If you were injured in a New York truck accident due to negligent truck maintenance or repairs, you may be entitled to compensation. Because truck drivers must, by law, inspect their vehicles daily and keep written reports, you may be able to prove that a defective part, poor vehicle maintenance, or failure to complete an inspection was the cause of your injury.
An attorney from The Rybak Firm, PLLC can help you obtain these records and build your case against the truck company.
Types of Accidents Caused by Negligent Maintenance and Repairs
Because commercial trucks are such large and complex machines, many different parts and systems may break or become defective. If left broken or defective, these issues can lead to life-threatening accidents. Some of the most common issues that can lead to serious truck accidents include:
- Brake failure
- Tire blowouts
- Broken headlights, turn signals, and hazard lights
- Unsecured cargo
- Trailer hitch failure
- Suspension failure
All of the issues listed above are preventable with proper and regular vehicle inspections. Furthermore, the law requires truck carriers to complete both daily and more thorough, annual inspections of their vehicles. Failure to complete these inspections prior to an accident can lead to liability.
Truck Carriers Must Maintain Safety Records
Under FMCSA rules, most motor carriers and their truck drivers must maintain certain records regarding the maintenance of their vehicles. These records prove that the truck operator has completed the required safety inspections and that the truck is safe to drive.
Without these records, truck carriers may face fines, driver suspension, and liability for accidents that occur when these records are missing.
Trucking companies must make sure they maintain all trucks, truck parts, and accessories and keep them in a “safe and proper condition” at all times. In order to prove this, truck carriers must maintain records such as the following:
- Vehicle Identification Papers: These papers must contain the owner’s name and the company’s vehicle number as well as the vehicle’s serial number, make, year, and tire size.
- Record of inspections, repairs, and maintenance showing their type and last completed date.
- Record of upcoming due dates of inspections and scheduled maintenance
- Roadside inspection reports (these reports must be retained on file with the motor carrier for 12 months)
It can be difficult to determine whether an accident resulted from negligent truck maintenance or simply by driver error. However, by analyzing these safety records, you and your attorney may be able to pinpoint the cause of your accident to a specific defective part, placing liability squarely on the truck carrier or entity in charge of maintenance.
What should I do if I was injured in a truck accident?
If you were involved in a truck accident caused by a defective or negligently maintained truck part, one or more parties may be liable for your injuries and damages. Depending on a number of factors, the truck carrier, a maintenance company, the manufacturer, or some combination of these parties could be to blame.
The truck accident lawyers at The Rybak Firm, PLLC will evaluate the facts of your case and help you identify all potentially liable parties. We will also help you collect important pieces of evidence and records, such as police reports and repair, inspection, and service records.
It is imperative that you contact a truck accident attorney as soon as possible after the accident because truck carriers may be able to legally destroy valuable pieces of evidence before negotiations or trial. An experienced truck accident lawyer can prevent this destruction by sending a letter of spoliation to preserve all evidence.
Do not delay. Let the New York personal injury attorneys at The Rybak Firm, PLLC begin building your truck accident case today. Submitt a ‘Contact us‘ form on our website or Call us 24/7 at 718-307-5554 for a Free and Confidential Consultation. You pay nothing until we win your case.
Vehicle Inspection Violations
All truck drivers must complete regular repairs, maintenance, and inspections on their vehicles according to FMCSA rules. During a typical inspection, a trained inspector will check the driver time log, driver’s license, and other paperwork. The inspector will also check the vehicle’s breaks, headlights, cargo securement, tires, exhaust system, coupling devices, and many other parts.
Violations can result in steep fines and the driver being placed out of service.
Who is liable if trucking violations cause an accident?
If a truck driver causes an accident because of an industry violation, victims can hold the trucking company or carrier liable due to a concept called vicarious liability. This concept holds that employers are liable for the actions of their employees, as long as the employee was acting within the scope of his employment.
A carrier may also be directly liable if it requires, encourages, or allows violations of industry rules. For example, the carrier would be directly liable for violations if the carrier required its drivers to text updates to them while driving or forced them to drive longer than the maximum allowed hours.
What should I do after a crash with a truck driver?
If you were involved in an auto accident with a commercial truck and wish to file suit against them, you or your attorney must take special steps to preserve important pieces of evidence.
First, you must send a letter of spoliation to the trucking company as soon after the accident as possible in order to preserve evidence that will be of crucial importance to your case. If you do not send this letter, the trucking company may be within its rights to destroy certain pieces of evidence.
Several pieces of evidence can establish that the truck driver and carrier were in violation of industry rules. This will help your case.
Important pieces of evidence include:
- The driver’s logbook showing hours driven
- Dispatch logs
- Cell phone records showing call history and data usage
- The driver’s personnel file and any background or drug test results
- Photographs and videos of the accident
- Maintenance records for the vehicle
- Inspection reports
- The carrier’s employee handbook or list of protocols
You must act quickly after the accident. Truck Accident Lawyer of The Rybak Firm, PLLC in Brooklyn, New York are here to help you in your time of need. We will file a letter of spoliation on your behalf, collect evidence, and help you build your case from the ground up.
Contact us today to schedule your Free and Confidential Consultation: 718-307-5554 or complete a quick “Contact Us Form” and we will get back to you promptly.
Accident Lawyers Near Me
Our offices are located in Brooklyn, NY. Although our offices are in Brooklyn, NY we serve the whole NYC Metro Area and represent clients in every borough of New York City. Our Accident Lawyers are able to travel to you if you are unable to meet at our offices due to an injury. We also provide free transportation to and from our offices.
Our office address is:
1810 Voorhies Ave
Suite #7
Brooklyn, NY 11235