If your loved one has been seriously injured or died in an 18-wheeler accident, it is in your best interests to hire a lawyer to do an independent investigation. This is important because an experienced lawyer will look for evidence of the following:
- Violations of federal trucking laws;
- Defective truck parts that may have contributed, even in part to the injuries or wrongful death.
Attorneys Eric Hageman and Ray Trueblood-Konz are our lead lawyers for these cases. They have teamed up to represent clients in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits against trucking companies and won millions for their clients. You can click here now to contact Eric and Ray and get your free consultation.
18-Wheeler Accident Reconstruction Helps Win Million-Dollar Settlements
Because we handle a lot of these cases, we have a team of accident reconstruction experts that we use to win money for our clients. The experts we hire include some of the best forensic engineers and animators in the nation.
Attorneys Eric Hageman and Ray Trueblood-Konz won millions of dollars for their clients in both of the above cases.
Defective Truck Part and Negligent Repair
If a defective truck part causes, even in part, a crash, anyone injured in the crash (and families of those killed) have a product liability claim against the manufacturer of that part.
Defective parts that may be involved include the following:
- trailer hitch assemblies
- brakes
- tires and axles
- steering shaft and gears
- dash control valves
Our attorneys have had leadership positions on multistate litigation panels involving product liability cases.
If a semi-tractor was negligently serviced before a crash, those injured (and the families of those killed) have a personal injury or wrongful death claim against the company that did the maintenance on the vehicle. We recently won $6 million for a family when Eric Hageman and his team discovered the negligent repairs to the truck during their investigation.
In another case, a husband and father was killed by a truck driver who failed to adequately inspect the 18-wheeler before getting on the road.
Violation of Federal Trucking Laws
For an attorney to properly investigate a crash involving an 18-wheeler, they have to know the commercial trucking regulations promulgated and enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation.
When our attorneys investigate a collision involving an 18-wheeler and an auto, motorcycle, bicycle or pedestrian, they look for evidence of FMCSA regulations violations at they:
- Inspect the vehicles involved
- Inspect the scene
- Analyze trucking company documents, including the driver’s daily log (basically a federally-mandated diary of how the driver spent every hour of every day he was driving)
- Interview witnesses and trucking company personnel.