Phoenix Truck Accident Lawyer

While any car accident can be devastating, a crash with a tractor trailer or other commercial truck can be catastrophic. Semi-trucks, tractor trailers, big rigs, 18 wheelers, and other commercial trucks often weigh 20 to 30 times your average passenger vehicle. When these beasts of the roadways collide with a passenger vehicle, severe injuries are very often an outcome and tragically so are deaths.

Arizona is known for heavy trucking and Phoenix in particular receives a generous amount of truck traffic as it is a premier destination for shipped goods. Statistics show that every 16 minutes a U.S. driver is injured or killed in an accident involving a tractor trailer. There are over 400,000 accidents involving commercial trucks each year. Tragically, in 98% of all semi-truck accidents at least one fatality occurs. Over 3,700 individuals are killed as a result of commercial truck accident each year. In Arizona, in 2008 alone, there were more than 6,300 trucking accidents. More than 100 individuals were killed in these accidents and over 1,600 people were injured.

Why You Need an Experienced Phoenix Truck Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a trucking accident in Phoenix, it is essential that you retain the services of a knowledgeable trucking attorney. A skilled truck accident attorney will look to determine your best means of recovery from the individual truck driver and from the trucking company that employs him or her.

There are several common causes of trucking accidents which can be relevant to your recovery. The most common are as follows:

1. Driver Fatigue — The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets strict guidelines for commercial driver’s hours of service and requires each driver log their time spent on the road, hours rested, etc. However, many truck drivers under strict deadlines violate the Administration’s regulations and falsify log entries. This can result in driver fatigue, which in turn is an all too common cause of commercial truck accidents. An experienced trucking attorney will be able to timely request the evidence necessary to determine whether the truck driver involved was in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s guidelines.

2. Speeding — Speeding is dangerous for any driver, but particularly so when you are driving an extremely large and heavy commercial truck. Speed is a leading cause of trucking accidents and an experienced trucking lawyer will look to determine whether speed may have been involved in your accident. The truck driver’s excessive speed can be used to show negligence which can impact your recovery.

3. Distracted driving — Truck drivers are on the road for long hours and many use that time to eat, text, talk on the phone, email, and engage in any number of other activities that takes their eyes from the road. Distracted driving can be lethal when you are driving an 80,000 pound truck. A skilled trucking lawyer in Phoenix will examine your case and determine whether distracted driving may have played a part in the accident.

These are just a few common causes of trucking accidents, but each go to show—you need the assistance of an experienced trucking attorney to ensure you receive the best recovery possible. Trucking accidents are devastating and emotional. The drivers that cause them should be held accountable.

Contact Van Norman Law Firm in Phoenix

At the Van Norman Law Firm, we have extensive experience representing victims of trucking accidents in Arizona. We will fight tirelessly on your behalf to ensure you receive the justice you so deserve. Time is of the essence when you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident