Lexington Truck Accident Attorney

• Driver Fatigue – A tired driver behind the wheel of a massive commercial truck can spell disaster on our roadways, as studies have shown that driving tired can be just as dangerous as driving drunk. This is why there are strict laws in place regarding the amount of time drivers are allowed to be on duty and behind the wheel. These hours-of-service rules dictate when drivers should take rest breaks, and when they must stop driving. They also require truckers and trucking companies to keep logs of the hours drivers work and operate their rigs. When they fail to comply with these regulations, drivers are more likely to be fatigued and susceptible to causing accidents – and they can be held accountable when they do.
• Drunk or drugged driving – Truck drivers are held to very strict standards when it comes to drug and alcohol use, and they can be held criminally and civilly accountable when they do not uphold their duty to drive safe and sober. Trucking companies also have a responsibility to ensure their drivers are not putting the public at risk by getting behind the wheel impaired.
• Safety Violations – The federal government enforces a number of safety regulations to protect the public from truck accidents. These include regulations regarding proper cargo securement, vehicle maintenance, driver performance, and more. Violating any of these safety rules means increasing the risks of accidents, and truckers and their employers can be held liable when violations lead to preventable harm.
• Unsafe Drivers – It is ultimately the trucking company’s legal duty to ensure that employees who operate commercial trucks are able to do so safely. When hiring, certifying, and retaining drivers, trucking companies need to make sure that trucks do not pose unreasonable risks. Hiring unqualified or licensed drivers, hiring drivers who would not pass medical exams, or retaining drivers with questionable safety and driving records could constitute negligence when those unsafe drivers cause harm.
• Defective Auto Parts – There are some trucking accidents that are caused by defective auto parts rather than the negligence of trucking companies or drivers. When this is the case, victims may be able to pursue compensation by pursuing product liability claims against manufacturers that designed or manufactured unsafe products.

Truck accidents can be caused by a number of different factors, which is why a meticulous investigation becomes crucial to identifying what happened, and whether it could and should have been prevented if not for negligence. Our dedicated team of Lexington truck accident attorneys at Goeing Law represents individuals that experience serious injury as a result of negligent drivers and indifferent trucking companies.

Who Can Be Held Responsible For a Trucking Accident?

18-wheelers can weigh more than 80,000 pounds. Because of their size, commercial trucks often cause expensive property damage and severe injuries when colliding with smaller passenger vehicles. Commercial truck drivers have a responsibility to drive safely and ensure their trucks are well maintained and fully functional. If you have been injured in a truck accident, our experienced lawyers can discuss your options for pursuing compensation.

If the driver was speeding, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or driving recklessly, you can file a lawsuit to seek compensation. Trucking companies must not put unreasonable expectations on drivers. In fact, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration states that drivers must not operate a commercial truck while ill or fatigued, and drivers must take regular breaks to stay alert. Depending on the situation, the truck itself may have malfunctioned, and you can pursue compensation from the manufacturer or maintenance provider.

Dangerous Truck Accidents

While there are many types of trucking accidents that also often involve other types of motor vehicles, there are some very unique and dangerous types of semi-truck accidents:

• Jackknife Trucking Accidents: One of the most common types of Kentucky trucking accidents is a tractor-trailer jackknife collision. This type of Kentucky semi-truck accident occurs when the driver suddenly applies the brakes so that the cab stops, but the trailer goes into a skid and swings out and forms a 90-degree angle with the cab. If the truck jackknifes with any speed, the entire truck is likely to flip and rollover causing more serious injuries and widening the area of danger around the big-rig.
• Carriage Under-ride Accidents: Another type of Kentucky tractor-trailer accident is referred to as a carriage under-ride or over-ride accident. This type of semi-truck accident involves a passenger vehicle traveling underneath the undercarriage of the tractor-trailer so that the passenger vehicle is actually crushed by the truck's undercarriage. These types of Kentucky trucking accidents can result in horrific injuries where the top portion of the vehicle is ripped away and the passenger vehicle occupants are crushed, decapitated or suffer other serious injury or wrongful death.
• Rollover Accidents: While vehicle rollovers can occur with other vehicles, they are fundamentally different when a tractor-trailer is involved. Most rollover accidents pose the biggest danger to those in the vehicle that rolls over. Because fully loaded semi-trucks weigh 80,000 pounds, they can flatten other vehicles in a rollover accident. Rollovers involving tractor-trailers in Kentucky may be the result of improperly secured loads that shift making the vehicle unbalanced and prone to tip.

Our experienced statewide Kentucky semi-truck accident attorneys at Goeing Law have the experience and resources to advocate for the fullest financial recovery for victims of these horrific motor vehicle accidents.

Unique Challenges of Litigating Trucking Accident Claims

Trucking accident claims in Kentucky are not simply a car accident with a big vehicle but instead extremely complex cases. Our experienced Lexington trucking accident attorneys at Goeing Law understand the unique issues and challenges of handling complex semi-truck accident claims. Some of the factors that make Lexington tractor-trailer accident claims unique include:

• Regulatory Structure of the Trucking Industry: There is an extensive and complex matrix of state and federal regulations that govern intrastate and interstate commercial trucking. Many of these regulations govern safety issues, such as inspections, maintenance, maximum size and weight of a big-rig, drug and alcohol policies, proper securing of loads, pre-employment screening, restrictions on the use of electronic devices, and anti-fatigue rules (called "Hours of Service Rules"). These regulations govern the conduct of truck drivers and commercial carriers (e.g. trucking companies) to reduce the magnitude of danger to others sharing the roadways posed by these massive vehicles. Unfortunately, too many trucking companies and commercial drivers disregard these regulations in an effort to increase profits. When the failure to comply with one of these regulations results in a collision that causes injury, the victim may have a viable claim for financial compensation.
• Trucking Litigation Tactics and Resources: Commercial trucking companies possess extensive experience defending big-rig accident claims. Most trucking companies also have rapid response teams that may be dispatched to a trucking accident scene almost immediately to investigate and begin developing a defense strategy. Trucking companies and their insurance carriers have a virtually limitless supply of financial resources and trucking accident experts. When you pursue a Kentucky semi-truck accident claim, you need a tractor-trailer accident law firm with experience handling trucking accident claims and that has access to top experts.
• Trucking Industry Practice of Manipulating Evidence: Many Kentucky trucking accident claims are adversely affected because critical evidence is altered or destroyed. Drivers of semi-trucks are required to maintain logbooks that document driving time, rest breaks, vehicle inspections, maintenance issues, and other factors that may provide valuable insight into the cause of a trucking accident in Kentucky. Our experienced Kentucky semi-truck accident attorneys at Goeing Law engage in aggressive discovery to obtain fuel receipts, hotel bills, email correspondence, and other documents that can be used to expose evidence that is being manipulated in logbooks. We also take affirmative action to prevent a tractor-trailer from having damage repaired and to preserve black box data recorder information.

Due to the serious nature of the injuries associated with trucking accidents, it is important to have an experienced Kentucky big-rig accident law firm represent you in seeking financial compensation.

Fighting for Fair Compensation After a Truck Accident

Injuries resulting from a trucking accident can prevent you from returning to work for extended periods of time, even though your medical expenses and household bills continue to mount. At Goeing Law, our Lexington truck accident attorneys have experience recovering many different forms of compensation, including but not limited to the following:

• Loss of past, present and future wages/salary
• Costs associated with hospitalization and medical expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Disfigurement
• Wrongful death type damages including burial and funeral expenses
• Impairment of marital relationship
• Vehicle repair costs
• Other damages based on specific facts and circumstances

We are committed to seeking the best possible recovery for our clients. If you or someone you love has been seriously injured in a Kentucky trucking accident, we welcome you to contact our experienced legal team so that we can evaluate your claim and advise you of your rights and options.

Fight for Your Future with Our Statewide Truck Accident Lawyers

Trucking accidents can cause serious injury and death. If you have lost a loved one in a trucking accident, or if you were injured in an accident involving a tractor-trailer, it is important that you get help from a Lexington trucking accident attorney from our firm right away.

Hear it From our Satisfied Clients!

We are closely familiar with civil court systems both locally and statewide, giving our clients an advantage the opposition does not anticipate.