Truck Accident Lawyers in North Carolina

What Are Semi-Trucks?

Semi-trailer trucks, also known as 18-wheelers or tractor-trailers, are large commercial vehicles used primarily for long-distance freight transportation. These trucks have two main components: the tractor (the engine-powered front unit) and the semi-trailer (the non-motorized rear unit used to carry cargo).

Here are the main features of semis:

• Tractor Unit: The front part of the truck, where the driver sits, houses the engine and provides the pulling power. It is often referred to as the cab or prime mover.
• Semi-Trailer: This is the detachable rear section used for cargo. The "semi" part refers to the fact that it lacks front wheels and must be connected to the tractor to move. It rests on the tractor's rear wheels when attached.
• 18 Wheels: The term 18-wheeler comes from the fact that these trucks typically have a total of 18 wheels when the tractor and trailer are combined.
• Articulated Design: The tractor-trailer combination allows for easier maneuverability despite the large size of the vehicle, as the tractor can turn independently from the trailer.

Tractor-trailers are designed to haul large quantities of goods over long distances, often across states or countries. Depending on the cargo, different types of trailers can be attached, including dry vans (for general goods), reefers (refrigerated trailers for perishables), or tankers (for liquids or gases).

Companies use 18-wheelers to transport various goods, from electronics and food to furniture and raw materials. They are an integral part of global supply chains, connecting manufacturers, warehouses, and retailers. Tractor-trailers are built to carry heavy cargo, often exceeding 40,000 pounds (18,000 kg).

What Are the Federal Trucking Regulations?

Federal trucking regulations in the United States are primarily governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), an agency within the Department of Transportation (DOT). These regulations are designed to ensure the safety of commercial motor vehicle operations and include a wide range of rules covering various aspects of trucking. Key regulations include:

• Hours of Service (HOS) Regulations: These rules limit the number of hours a commercial driver can operate a vehicle to prevent fatigue. Key provisions include:
• 11-Hour Driving Limit: Drivers may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• 14-Hour Limit: Drivers cannot drive beyond the 14th consecutive hour after coming on duty, following 10 consecutive hours off duty.
• 30-Minute Break: Drivers must take a 30-minute break after 8 cumulative hours of driving time if they haven’t had at least a 30-minute break.
• 60/70-Hour Limit: Drivers cannot drive after 60/70 hours on duty in 7/8 consecutive days. They can restart the 7/8 consecutive day period after taking 34 or more consecutive hours off duty.
• Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Requirements: Drivers must have a valid CDL appropriate for the type of vehicle they operate. There are different classes of CDLs (Class A, B, and C) based on the vehicle's weight and type.
• Drug and Alcohol Testing: Regulations require pre-employment, post-accident, random, and reasonable suspicion drug and alcohol testing for drivers to ensure they are not operating under the influence.
• Vehicle Maintenance and Inspection: Trucking companies must regularly inspect, repair, and maintain their vehicles. Drivers are also required to conduct pre-trip and post-trip inspections to ensure their vehicle's safety.
• Weight and Size Limits: Federal regulations set limits on the weight and size of commercial vehicles to protect highways and bridges. Vehicles must comply with axle weight limits, gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR), and dimensional limits.
• Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs): Most commercial drivers are required to use ELDs to electronically record their driving hours to ensure compliance with HOS regulations.
• Safety Regulations: These include a wide range of requirements aimed at ensuring the safety of commercial vehicles, such as:
• Securing Cargo: Proper methods for loading and securing cargo to prevent shifting or falling.
• Driver Fitness: Medical certifications and physical qualifications for drivers.
• Hazardous Materials: Specific regulations for the transportation of hazardous materials, including labeling, packaging, and handling requirements.
• Insurance Requirements: Minimum levels of financial responsibility for commercial motor vehicles, ensuring that carriers have adequate insurance coverage for potential liabilities.
• Recordkeeping: Companies must maintain various records, including driver logs, maintenance records, and inspection reports, to demonstrate compliance with federal regulations.
• Compliance Reviews and Audits: FMCSA conducts compliance reviews and audits of trucking companies to ensure they adhere to federal regulations. Non-compliance can result in fines, penalties, or even shutdown orders.

These regulations are designed to enhance the safety of the trucking industry, protect drivers, and ensure the well-being of the public. Compliance with these rules is mandatory for all commercial trucking operations across the United States.

Understanding these regulations is vital to all legal proceedings, as violations can significantly impact the outcome of claims involving truck accidents. Analyzing whether a trucking company or driver adhered to these federal mandates can provide essential leverage during negotiations or litigation.

How to Get Compensation for Truck Accident Injuries in North Carolina

If you or a loved one has been injured in a big rig accident, it is important to seek compensation for the losses you have sustained. Truck accidents can result in devastating injuries that lead to long-term medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

With help from a North Carolina truck accident lawyer at Comerford Chilson & Moser, you can recover compensation for the following types of damages, and more:

• Medical expenses related to your injury, including surgery, medication, and long-term care
• Lost wages for missed time at work
• Damage to your vehicle and other property
• Permanent injury and loss of quality of life
• Pain and suffering

Our firm's reputation speaks for itself, as we have successfully recovered millions of dollars in verdicts and settlements for our clients. We understand the financial and emotional burdens that truck accident injuries can cause, and we are here to help you seek the compensation you need to move forward with your life.

The process of obtaining compensation can be intricate, involving detailed examinations of the accident's circumstances, proof of fault, and comprehensive calculations of past and projected future costs. Beyond the obvious financial repercussions, these claims also consider less tangible injuries such as emotional distress and long-term physical limitations. Utilizing skilled negotiators familiar with these processes is vital to ensuring that you receive full and fair compensation.

Common Trucking Accident Injuries

When commercial truck drivers or commercial truck companies are negligent, it can lead to serious or catastrophic injuries to innocent drivers and passengers.  These injuries can have a profound effect on the victim's life, causing immense physical pain and limiting their ability to work and engage in activities they once enjoyed. 

Injuries that are commonly sustained in trucking accidents include:

• Spinal cord injury: The sheer weight of commercial trucks can crush the spine irreversibly, leading to devastating injuries.
• Traumatic brain injury: A traumatic brain injury can have a profound effect on the individual’s ability to control their body, this can lead to a long and grueling medical journey and permanent disabilities.
• Broken bones: Bones are easily broken by a commercial truck that weighs over a ton. This can lead to many fractures and multiple surgeries.
• Burns: Among the most devastating injuries that can result from a truck accident are burns. Burns incurred in a truck accident may be the result of the impact itself or when the vehicle catches on fire, and these injuries often require extensive medical intervention, ongoing surgeries, and severe scarring. 
• Disfiguring injuries: This type of injury from a truck accident can leave another driver or passenger permanently disfigured and, even with the most advanced reconstructive surgeries, these injuries are often impossible to fully resolve. 
• Severe lacerations: This type of injury from a truck accident may occur when the driver or passenger is thrown out of the vehicle, and these lacerations can lead to serious blood loss and nerve damage. 
• Internal organ damage: This type of injury from a truck accident can occur when the force of the impact crushes the body, and this type of damage often requires immediate emergency medical attention. 

Long-term repercussions of these injuries can include chronic pain, permanent disabilities, and significant lifestyle changes, necessitating ongoing therapy and medical care. Victims may require adaptive equipment or home modifications to accommodate new physical limitations. Understanding the full impact of these injuries is crucial in assessing and seeking appropriate compensation.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Truck Driver Negligence

Regrettably, many truck accidents — and their destructive outcomes — could be avoided if not for the negligence or recklessness of the truck driver.

Examples of truck driver negligence include:

• Violating hours of service rules: To minimize the risk of operating the tractor trailer while overly fatigued, state and federal regulations mandate the number of hours truck drivers are permitted to operate in a consecutive period, as well as the hours required for consecutive rest. Truck drivers are required to keep detailed logs and receipts to verify such information. Furthermore, if at any point during travel, a driver recognizes the onset of sudden fatigue, the driver is required to immediately pull off the road.
• Inadequate vehicle inspection and maintenance: To reduce the risk of an unsafe vehicle traveling on our highways, truck drivers and trucking companies are required to comply with regular inspection and maintenance regulations. Additionally, the truck driver must accurately document pre-trip inspections, trip inspections, and other maintenance checks in a detailed maintenance log.
• Failure to comply with safety and traffic laws: Truck drivers are mandated by law to understand and comply with all state and federal traffic laws, including complying with traffic signals, posted speed limits, and other requirements. Additionally, given the seriousness of a potential crash involving a semi-truck or other commercial vehicles, it is unlawful for commercial drivers to operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .04 or higher.

Not only is a truck driver’s failure to comply with state or federal regulations against the law, such negligence puts the lives of countless others who are on the road at risk. At Comerford, Chilson, & Moser, we are dedicated to holding truck drivers and their employers responsible for such negligence.

Mechanical Failure

If you or a family member is involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler or other commercial vehicle, unsafe equipment or a mechanical failure may be at fault. The company itself, as well as maintenance subcontractors and parts manufacturers, may all be held liable.

Of course, you would not know if the truck was unsafe, and the trucking company is unlikely to reveal that information. Only an accident investigation specialist can determine as much. That is why it is important to contact our Winston-Salem truck accident lawyers at Comerford Chilson & Moser as soon as possible after a crash.

We work with accident reconstruction specialists and mechanical engineers who can pinpoint factors that contribute to truck accidents, such as: 

• Faulty brakes
• Worn tires
• Defective or worn parts
• And much more

We will review all records to determine whether proper preventative maintenance and safety inspections were completed.

Overweight Trucks & Unsafe Loads

Federal, state, and municipal laws restrict the amount of weight that trucks are permitted to carry. Federal laws limit the maximum weight of a truck to 80,000 pounds (factoring in the total weight of the load, the trailer, the fuel, and even the driver). Limits are also set based upon the number of axles on a truck and trailer.

Total weight or how the weight is distributed on a tractor-trailer or other large commercial vehicle can be contributing factors in truck accidents. Companies can be held liable if it is shown that being overweight or having poor weight distribution was responsible for an accident in which you or someone you love was seriously injured. At Comerford Chilson & Moser, we know how to prove how overweight trucks and unsafe loads have contributed to serious truck accidents in North Carolina. 

Overloaded trucks can cause a number of issues, including:

• Inability to come to a complete stop
• Excessive pressure on tires, which may cause blowouts
• Problems steering
• Rollovers are more common

Trucking Company Negligence

If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck crash, the attorneys at Comerford Chilson & Moser can help you pursue justice and accountability against those responsible for the accident, including the corporate businesses that place profit before the safety of those on the road.

State and federal regulations attempt to influence the safe operation of commercial vehicles and minimize the incidence of catastrophic truck crashes by requiring appropriate medical certification, licensing, testing, training, and other documentation of commercial truck drivers. When a business negligently hires a truck driver who has not met such requirements, or fails to verify a driver’s qualifications, the business is equally responsible for placing a potentially dangerous driver behind the wheel.

We hold trucking companies accountable for their negligent practices, such as:

• Negligent hiring: Hiring drivers with poor driving records, history of incomplete or inaccurate logbooks, drug or alcohol abuse problems, criminal convictions, or any other issues that would raise concerns for most reasonable employers.
• Other negligence: Failing to conduct regular alcohol and drug testing, properly maintain vehicles, review or maintain driver logs or inspection reports, provide necessary training, or impose sanctions on drivers for committing safety violations or logbook violations.

How Comerford Chilson & Moser Supports Truck Accident Victims

At Comerford Chilson & Moser, we believe that every truck accident victim deserves comprehensive support to rebuild their lives. Our approach extends beyond legal representation; we aim to be a source of guidance and reassurance, helping clients understand their rights and the legal processes involved. We recognize the added stress and confusion that follows an accident, and our team is committed to offering empathetic, personalized service tailored to each client's unique situation.

Our attorneys take the time to thoroughly explain each step of the claim process, ensuring clients are well-informed and empowered to make decisions that best serve their interests. We engage with clients transparently, providing honest assessments of their situations and potential outcomes while striving to mitigate their financial burdens through our contingency-based fee structure. This dedication to client-centric advocacy distinguishes us and reinforces our role as trusted allies in the battle for justice and fair compensation.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident with a semi-truck, tractor-trailer, or other type of commercial truck, contact our North Carolina truck accident lawyers at (336) 568-8779 to schedule a free consultation.

Helpful Resources

• North Carolina Department of Transportation - Official website for information on roadways, safety regulations, and accident reporting in North Carolina
• North Carolina General Assembly - Access to state laws and regulations regarding truck accidents and personal injury claims in North Carolina
• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration - Resource for federal regulations, safety guidelines, and statistics related to commercial trucking accidents