New Orleans Truck Accident Lawyer
New Orleans is home to one of the largest and busiest ports in the world. A major producer of petroleum and natural gas with over a dozen refineries in the area, New Orleans plays a vital role in the U.S. energy economy. From Interstate 10, the Pontchartrain Expressway connects New Orleans with the rest of the country through this major artery of U.S. interstate trucking.
Commercial trucking is a vital industry, but truck driver and trucking company negligence combine to create an alarming risk of serious truck accidents. The rate of truck accidents has seen a significant increase in New Orleans and nationally over the past decade, due in part to the increase in cellphone use and distracted driving, as well as issues unique to the trucking industry, such as their hiring and training practices and fleet maintenance.
Truck crashes are costly in the damages they inflict on accident victims, and trucking company insurers bring lots of resources to bear in an attempt to minimize or avoid liability in a truck accident. You need a law firm on your side with the skill and determination to go up against the largest trucking companies and their insurance carriers and hold them responsible for the damage they’ve caused. At the Palazzo Law Firm in Gretna, our team of experienced and passionate New Orleans truck accident lawyers are devoted to helping truck accident victims get the medical care they need and the compensation they deserve after a serious truck crash in the greater New Orleans area.
What are the causes of New Orleans truck accidents?
Like car wrecks and other motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents are frequently caused by factors such as speeding, drinking and driving, and distracted driving. In the case of trucking accidents, however, there are additional factors at play that are unique to the trucking industry. These truck accident causes are:
Drowsy driving – Truckers are limited by federal regulations in how long they can be on duty or behind the wheel without taking significant time off to rest. These so-called safety regulations, however, allow truck drivers to be on duty for 14 hours a day with 11 hours behind the wheel. They can also be on duty for 60 or 70 hours over a seven-day or eight-day “week” before restarting their “week” with only 34 hours off. What’s worse, truckers routinely disobey these liberal restrictions and work even longer. Roadside inspections regularly turn up truck drivers who have falsified their logs to make it appear they took rest breaks when they really didn’t. Rest is the only way to recover from fatigue. Truckers who drive while drowsy or fatigued put other drivers at great risk of harm due to a truck driver’s lack of attention or even falling asleep at the wheel.
Poor truck maintenance – Roadside inspections that occur every year (and that trucking companies know about in advance) result in thousands of trucks being immediately pulled from service due to bad or missing brake components, worn-out tires, nonfunctioning signal lights and other important safety violations. Trucking companies know better than to put unsafe semis on the road, but these hazardous big rigs are on the road right now by the thousands. When a truck safety failure causes an accident, the trucking company can and should be held fully responsible for the damages caused.
Talk to an Experienced and Dedicated New Orleans Truck Accident Lawyer at the Palazzo Law Firm
At the Palazzo Law Firm, our New Orleans truck accident attorneys are dedicated to recovering maximum compensation for truck accident victims, and we have the skills, resources, experience and determination to do it. Call our Gretna law office at 504-433-1442 for a free consultation on your trucking accident claim. There’s no fee until we recover for you.
