truck accident attorney

Published on: February 19, 2018

Florida Safety Regulators Allege Commercial Driving School Endangered Motorists

Safety regulators in Florida shuttered a large, third-party commercial drivers license testing company after an investigation uncovered practices that posed “an immediate serious danger to the public health, safety and welfare” of others who share the road. Specifically, the state found the firm was not properly training its workers, left out key portions of a multi-part skills test and altered testing data to make it seem as if its students scored higher than they actually did.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has canceled its contract with the driving school, which up until then was the No. 3 biggest commercial driver license testing firm in the state, which locations from Miami to Labelle. Taking it even a step farther, the state agency ordered some 1,500 commercial truck drivers whose licenses were issued by the company to rush for a retake of their CDL tests, or else they would lose their right to legally operate a commercial vehicle (and thus likely their jobs).

According to TheDrive.com, when state investigators started examining claims that the books were cooked at the school, they sat in on the training and testing for existing students. With those investigators overseeing the process, the pass rate for CDL applicants plummeted from 60 percent to just 11 percent. That’s a solid indicator that the school had been passing students who weren’t properly trained and lacked the necessary skills to operate a mammoth commercial truck. Continue reading →

Published on: February 4, 2018

Establishing Vicarious Liability in Truck Accident Lawsuit Filed by Injured Trucker

By Dean Freeman

Florida truck accident lawsuits are among the most complex in motor vehicle litigation for numerous reasons. Successful truck accident attorneys know this is in large part because the sheer size and weight of these vehicles and the fact that collisions often occur at high-speeds on highways inevitably means a greater severity of injuries. Another reason is there are often numerous defendants. It’s not just the driver, but the driver’s employer and the carrier and the owner of the cargo and possibly others. Employers or companies acting as employers may be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of a driver who was acting in the course and scope of employment at the time of the accident.

Although occupants of passenger vehicles most often suffer the worst outcomes in truck accidents, truck drivers aren’t immune from injuries, especially if the collision involved another large vehicle. That typically opens another avenue of recovery in workers’ compensation, though this doesn’t necessarily foreclose on other legal remedies.

In a recent case weighed by the Wyoming Supreme Court, justices reversed in part a summary judgment in claim filed by a truck driver who was struck by another large truck while he worked to free his truck from its stationary position on a snow-covered highway. The court ruled that while claims against plaintiff’s co-driver and the owner of the cargo they were hauling for direct negligence were correctly decided in defendants’ favor, plaintiff’s claim for damages on the issue of vicarious liability should have survived summary judgment. That means he may continue with his claim, though justices noted in their ruling, “(plaintiff) will undoubtedly have a difficult case to try,” namely because he bear the burden of proof on issues of negligence, causation and damages, as well as probable assertions of comparative fault. Continue reading →

Published on: December 30, 2017

Wrongful Death Verdict in Truck Crash Case Tossed, New Trial Ordered

By Dean Freeman

It was a simple denial of a defense motion for continuance that resulted in overturning a $2.5 million verdict in favor of a plaintiff whose wife had died in a truck accident. That doesn’t mean plaintiff has lost, but it will start the lengthy process of trial preparation all over again. It’s possible when faced with this prospect (and already knowing how a jury might weigh the facts of the case), that a settlement will be worked out before it comes to that.

Still, it’s disappointing news for the plaintiff, whose truck crash case was recently weighed by the Alabama Supreme Court.

On the day of the accident, pursuant to a contract with the owner of a local paper mill, defendant instructed his employees to drive two company dump trucks to gather debris and take it to a nearby dump site. After loading the trucks, the drivers traveled to the dump site, which required them to travel down a narrow, two-lane road for part of the way. Continue reading →

Published on: November 28, 2017

Automation May Soon Reduce Florida Trucking Accidents

By Dean Freeman

Now, The New York Times reports that self-driving trucks may be closer on the horizon than expected, a development that would not only revolutionize the trucking industry, it could make for fewer trucking accidents.

According to the report, the venture capital industry has been investing heavily in self-driving technology. Just this year, investors and firms have placed over $1 billion into development of self-driving technologies for large trucks – and that is 10 times what was being invested three years ago. The potential for growth opportunity is exponential, though our Orlando truck accident lawyers know it may raise some interesting legal questions.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has noted an uptick in trucking accidents in recent years, rising 8 percent between 2014 and 2015. This upward trend poses a safety threat on Florida roads, particularly as the trucking industry has continued to grow with the rise of online shopping. Trucks – and their drivers – are increasingly called on to deliver goods and services, with a heavy demand placed on expedience. Continue reading →