Truck Accidents

Toledo and Northwest Ohio and Michigan Trucking Accident Lawyer

When a truck is in an accident with a car, the car’s driver and its passengers are often seriously injured. If the injuries were the result of a negligent truck accident, the law allows victims to seek compensation for injuries, medical bills, and lost income. If you have been injured in a truck wreck, contact an Ohio trucking accident attorney at Williams DeClark Tuschman Co., L.P.A., to learn more about compensation for trucking accident injuries.

Causes of Trucking Accidents

Our Toledo and Northwest Ohio law firm has been helping people injured in trucking accidents for more than 30 years. In our experience, truck accidents are generally caused by:

• The truck driver. Truck drivers usually are paid by the mile. That provides them with the incentive to drive as many miles as possible, despite regulations stipulating how long they can drive without rest stops. Without the rest they need, fatigued drivers can be inattentive and reckless. Truckers use cell phones, adding to causes of inattentiveness. Fatigue may also lead to drug use, with drivers using amphetamines and other substances to stay awake. The desire to cut costs can send drivers onto unsafe two lane highways, such as the US-24 road between Ft. Wayne and Toledo, to avoid tolls, which in turn, creates hazardous exposure to car traffic.
• Poor maintenance. Brakes and tires must be inspected regularly, with scheduled maintenance performed as required by law. Couplings and lights must be in working order. When procedures related to proper maintenance of a truck are not followed, catastrophic accidents and injuries can result. There are maintenance logs which are kept in the truck at all times. Drivers, and the trucking companies that hire them, are known to falsify maintenance records to cut costs and save time.
• Defective equipment. Faulty brakes, faulty tires, and other defective equipment are common causes of serious truck accidents. Undercarriage protectors, which prevent cars from going under trucks, have been known to crack. Electrical systems in trucks are complex. Faulty wiring can lead to a driver receiving inaccurate information about the condition of the vehicle.
• Improper loading. An unbalanced load can cause a truck to roll over in a sharp turn. Unsecured loads can fly off the truck, causing serious hazards on the roadway.

Resources, Experience, and Dedication

Our law firm has the resources to handle truck accident injuries and wrongful death from trucking crashes. We consult with investigators and accident reconstruction experts highly knowledgeable about black box recorders and GPS systems. We understand how to analyze driver logs and maintenance records. We work hard to learn the truth of your accident, interviewing witnesses, obtaining police reports, and investigating the history of the truck, the driver, and the trucking company. Contact a trucking accident lawyer at Williams DeClark Tuschman Co., L.P.A., if you have been injured in an accident with a semi truck. We have the dedication and the knowledge to get proper compensation for your injuries. For more information about truck accidents, visit our truck accident information center.