Truck Driver Error Accident Lawyers in Rio Rancho, New Mexico

It can be frustrating when you are involved in any motor vehicle accident, especially when it is a trucking accident due to truck driver errors.  Truck drivers are supposed to be trained how to drive properly, are required to get special licenses, and trucking companies are required to continue training and monitoring their employees.  Nevertheless, there are still too many big rig crashes on our roadways.

Unfortunately due to their size and weight, these 18 wheeler wrecks usually end up causing the rest of us serious personal injuries or even wrongful death.  Many times the truck driver errors causing these crashes are preventable and completely avoidable.  Victims and their families who are hurt or killed in New Mexico trucking crashes have rights to obtain compensation for their pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages, and property damage.  Call the NM Truck Accident Attorneys, to learn how we can help you and your family protect your rights to compensation.

Liability for Truck Driver Errors

When a truck driver error results in a serious semi truck crash causing personal injuries, there are several ways to establish liability against the truck driver.  Under the common law, or judge-made law, a negligence cause of action holds a truck driver liable for failing to use reasonable care in the operation of his or her truck that a reasonably prudent person would under the circumstances.  This breach must be what causes your injuries in a crash.

Under statutory law, or law made by the Legislature, a violation of a statute by a truck driver’s error may result in a finding of negligence per se.  Under this legal doctrine, the truck driver and the trucking company may be negligent as a matter of law for violating a statute that is meant to protect you from the injuries that the truck crash caused.

The trucking company may also be liable for the truck driver errors if the truck driver was working within the scope of employment.  This is known as respondeat superior, and it is a type of vicarious liability principle of law.  This means that acts committed by an employee in furtherance of the employer’s business will result in the employer being liable.

Common Truck Driver Errors Which Result in Personal Injuries

There are many different types of truck driver errors which could result in an 18 wheeler crash causing personal injuries or wrongful death.  Our firm understands how to investigate these claims and prove the negligence of the truck driver.  We will also hold the trucking company liable for the truck driver’s errors which caused your injuries.

Some of the most common truck driver errors which could prove your case include the following:

• Distracted driving (using a cell phone to make a call or texting, using a GPS device, playing with the music radio or handheld radio, or eating);
• Drunk or drugged driving (using drugs to stay awake);
• Hours of service violations;
• Aggressive driving;
• Failing to yield or stop;
• Speeding;
• Following too closely;
• Improper lane changes or merges; and
• Many other causes.

These causes are typically going to result in a finding of negligence against a truck driver.  Of the common causes that are statutory violations, it is likely that victims will also be able to hold the truck driver negligent per se.

Proving Truck Driver Errors

Our law firm knows that it may not always be easy to prove some truck driver errors.  Some of the most difficult to prove truck driver errors are those caused by improper maintenance of a tractor trailer and hours of service violations.  This is because the truck driver is the one responsible for creating and maintaining these documents.  This also means that a truck driver has access to these documents post-accident and could change them to escape liability.

However, there are still ways to prove the truck driver errors that caused your crash.  Using an experienced engineer or mechanic and help demonstrate what maintenance was actually performed versus what maintenance was falsified.  Experts can look at the brake pads, tires, cargo straps, and other parts of the 18 wheeler to determine whether they were properly cleaned, replaced, and serviced, or whether they were in need of replacement.

For hours of service violations, onboard trucking computers monitor the speed, time, and distance that a large commercial truck is operating.  If a truck driver falsifies an hours of service log, an experienced lawyer or expert can review the entries versus the truck computer data to check whether the records were falsified.  This can both establish liability and destroy a truck driver’s credibility in trial.

Call Us if You Were Injured in a New Mexico Trucking Accident Due to Truck Driver Errors

Handling trucking accident cases is what we do at the NM Truck Accident Attorneys.  Our Albuquerque trucking accident lawyers are knowledgable in both law and medicine to prove liability and damages in your case.  We have represented victims against some of the largest trucking companies in the country and against some of the most brazen, difficult, and negligent truck drivers imaginable.  We won’t allow them to talk their way out of their mistakes which caused your injuries.

Our initial consultations are free and we can meet you where you are.  Contact us at (505) 883-5000 to schedule an appointment to speak with one of our truck accident lawyers in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.  You will not owe us money unless we win your case.