Grand Prairie Overloaded Truck Accident Lawyer

Truckers and trucking companies are required to abide by federal trucking mandates and regulations. If a truck driver fails to abide by the federal trucking regulations, such as maintaining a safe weight, they could be held liable for damages. Federal limits are 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, 20,000 pounds on a single axle and 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle group. There are many risk factors when a tractor-trailer is overloaded and overweight. Overweight trucks increase the breaking time of a truck, and that will lead to a higher risk of having a crash. Also, overweight trucks carrying an oversized load makes visibility difficult, which often leads to car crashes.

If you or a loved one were severely injured in a crash involving an overweight tractor-trailer, you should get in touch with an experienced truck accident attorney as soon as possible. A Grand Prairie overloaded truck accident lawyer can help you seek compensation for all of your damages.

Steps Truck Companies Could Take To Ensure Safety

There are many steps a truck driver and the trucking company can take to prevent a severe accident from occurring. This includes properly training staff, knowing how much to load, and understanding the tractor-trailer’s limits.

Determine How Much Is Needed To Be Loaded

It is important to know exactly what the driver is carrying and how much of it they are carrying, do not just load their truck and drive off. Organizing their load by type and weight will allow drivers to be better prepared, to keep an organized view of what they need to carry, make a list, and follow it.

Switch Vehicles

Switching to a different vehicle can also help if a truck is overloaded. Not all vehicles were equipped to carry heavy loads. So, if their vehicle is not helping them, then they probably need to change it.

Unload Unnecessary Items

Carrying unnecessary equipment and materials will just add to the overall weight of the truck. So, it is essential to eliminate those things when they can.

Train Staff Properly

Trucking companies should train their staff about proper weight management. Every driver should know how to weigh their trucks and to use the scales, train their forklift operators to distribute the freight in an even manner, proper loading techniques, and safe environment and make sure that the scales are maintained as well.

Get an Overweight Permit

If a trucking company find themselves paying overweight fines frequently, despite taking all the necessary precautions, it means they are often driving overweight trucks. And if that is unavoidable, the ideal scenario would be just to get an overweight load permit in their area and make sure the permit covers the projected loads that they might transport. And it is important to see if their special vehicle size is required as well.

Certain cargo is just going to exceed the normal weight requirements if a big item needs to move, and it cannot be broken down, and that is just a circumstance where they will need to apply for an overweight permit.

What Are Common Injuries Sustained in a Collision Involving an Overloaded Truck Crash?

An overweight truck can cause devastating and catastrophic injuries to all involved. The most common injuries include:

Fatal Accidents

So, when somebody loses their life or sustains a severe injury in a truck accident, it may be possible to file a claim for personal injury or wrongful death. While the driver of the truck often shares the majority of the responsibility for these crashes, if others are not affiliated with his or her employer who loaded the truck, it is possible the driver may also have the right to start a personal injury claim against the negligent party.

What Are The Risks In Infrastructures When a Truck Is Overweight?

Overweight or overloaded loads just cause increased deterioration to roads, lead to potholes or making potholes bigger and even bridges, some bridges are not equipped to handle overweight loads. So, that is why it is crucial to know what the weight is for a bridge, so the bridge does not collapse if they try to go over a bridge with a load that’s too heavy.

Who Can Be Held Responsible For an Accident?

The truck driver, as well as the trucking company, can be in trouble. They can be fined, cited for littering, or even called into court if items fall off the back of their truck and cause damage. However, those penalties do not usually aid those who suffered property damage from falling cargo.

If their vehicle was hit in one of those crashes, it is important to get all the information they can, including the description of the truck, license plate number of the trailer, DOT numbers, pictures, videos. All that evidence can increase the chances of receiving compensation for their damages.

Seek Help From a Grand Prairie Overloaded Truck Accident Attorney

Truck drivers can be held liable for overweight trucks as well as the trucking company that owns the truck and employs the driver. Some trucking companies even encourage the overloading of trucks in order to make a particular delivery on time or to increase profits.

Both the truck drivers and trucking companies have to keep records of the weight of the trucks. If you are a victim of a truck crash, it is important to talk to experienced truck wreck attorney immediately, because a trucking company may destroy or alter evidence after a serious accident in order to avoid liability. Speak to a Grand Prairie overloaded truck accident lawyer today.