TYPES OF TRUCK ACCIDENTS THAT OUR WESTCHESTER TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYERS HANDLE   

No matter, what type of truck accident you were involved in, our Westchester truck accident lawyers have the experience to prove the case and get you the financial compensation that you deserve. Our lawyers are not afraid of the big trucking companies and have obtained favorable results for victims of truck accidents all over New York state.       

TRUCKS HITTING CARS 

If you were in an accident with a truck, while you were driving a car in Westchester, call our truck accident lawyers right away. One of the most common questions that our truck accident lawyers are asked is how do I prove the truck was at fault in a truck accident case.  Trucks are responsible to follow New York's rules of the road and the trucking companies can be sued if their drivers operate the truck in a negligent manner or violate the rules of the road. The most common types of truck accidents that our Westchester truck accident lawyers see are rear end collisions and side swipes. Certain feature of trucks make these types of accident more common among trucks. 

Our Westchester county truck accident lawyers know that trucks take up to 40% more time to stop, compared to a car. This means that trucks must leave additional space between their truck and the car in front of them to be able to safely stop their truck if the car in front of them slows down or stops. New York law recognizes that it is the obligation of every driver, including truck drivers, to keep enough distance between their truck and the vehicle in front of them so that they can safely stop. This means that if you were rear ended by a truck, the fact that the truck did not leave enough space between their vehicle and yours, to be able to stop means that the truck was at fault. If you were injured in a rear end accident with a truck, including a big rig, tractor trailer, box truck or semi, call our Westchester county truck accident lawyers. 

If you were sideswiped by a commercial truck, especially a tractor trailer, our Westchester truck accident lawyers know that the truck was probably at fault. Since trucks are wider than cars, they have less room in a lane and are susceptible crossing over the lane, when the road curves. Trailers are known to have a certain degree of sway, so tractor trailers need to be driven slower on highways, in order to keep the truck within a lane. New York law requires that all vehicles including trucks, such as box trucks, semis, tractor trailers, and big rigs stay within their lane of travel and that they not cross over into another lane, especially when it is not safe to do so. If you were injured in a truck accident because the truck crossed over into your lane, call our Westchester truck accident lawyers today. 

TRUCKS HITTING PEDESTRIANS

One of the most common types of truck accident is the trailer hitting a pedestrian who is crossing the street in a cross walk. Too often the truck drivers don't keep a proper lookout for pedestrians. One of the most common scenarios is when a truck is making a turn, usually a left hand turn and the pedestrian is hit in the back while crossing the street. In these cases, the drivers often don't even see the person who is crossing the street. Our White Plains truck accident lawyers have won many of these cases by demonstrating that when a vehicle turns onto another street, the law gives the pedestrian the right of way. This means that the truck driver has the obligation to avoid hitting the pedestrian, and it is not the pedestrian's responsibility to avoid the truck.

TRUCKS ON WESTCHESTER PARKWAYS

From our White Plains office, we are located in central Westchester and are familiar with the local highways and expressways. One of the biggest problems in Westchester is commercial trucks and semis traveling on parkways where they should not be in the first place. New York's rules and regulations expressly prohibit commercial trucks including semi trucks, tractor trailers, 18 wheelers and box trucks on the parkways. All too often trucks that should not be on Westchester's parkways end up on either the Taconic Parkway, the Bronx River Parkway, Hutchinson Parkway, the cross county parkway, the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Sprain Parkway. This happens often in the areas near White Plains, Mamaroneck, Scarsdale, Rye, Harrison, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Valhalla. This occurs especially where I-95 and I-87 intersect with the parkways. The problem is that these parkways are not made for large commercial vehicles because the lanes are too small, the lanes curve quicker than large trucks can maneuver and they have low overpasses and bridges which the trucks hit too often. Trucks hitting overpasses and bridges have become a common occurrence on Westchester parkways, have become an extremely common occurrence in recent years. 

SWAY ACCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS WITH OTHER VEHICLES

Truck driver error and fatigue continue to be leading causes of trucks hitting cars and even other trucks. With tractor trailers, whenever the truck either turns, changes lanes or enters a curve, the trailer sways past where the cab is. This requires the truck operator to be careful and diligent.

TRUCK DRIVER FATIGUE

Unfortunately with the pressure to make deadlines, drivers cut corners and get careless, which causes accidents. One of the most common causes of truck accidents is driver inattention which often results from fatigue. Federal Motor Carrier regulates the amount of hours that truck drivers can work each day and on a weekly basis, as well as rest periods. On every case, our truck personal injury attorneys analyze various factors including hours of service to expose the factors which contribute to cause each truck accident.

DRIVER QUALIFICATION

Another problem is drivers who are not physically qualified to operate trucks are behind the wheel. Federal regulations have a long list of medical conditions that may effect a person's ability to operate a commercial vehicle. Some examples of medical conditions that exclude a person from becoming eligible from operating a commercial truck include epilepsy, eye disorders, balance disorders, seizure disorders, hand disorders that effect gripping, diabetes which requires insulin, high blood pressure and respiratory disorders. Whenever there is a truck accident involving a commercial carrier, the driver must undergo a blood test. The results often disclose what medications the person is on and consequently their medical conditions. Our truck attorneys have even sought punitive damages where drivers have lied and misrepresented their medical conditions to get a certification that they should never have had.