Trucking Accident Articles

How soon should you call The Segal Law Firm after you’ve been hurt in a tractor-trailer accident? Literally as soon as you wake up in the hospital.   Do you have two years to file your lawsuit? Yes, you do. That’s your statute of limitations. But you stand to lose a lot of critical evidence if you don’t call us right away.   The amount of information available on those tractor-trailers these days would astound you. And it can disappear quickly. There’s information concerning how the truck was maintained, how it was loaded, and how that load was secured. Thanks to GPS, many trucking companies know exactly where their trucks are and how fast they’re going at all times. So the sooner we know what happened to you, the sooner we can start that investigation and make sure that information isn’t destroyed.   Remember, too, that the police reports don’t come out for a few days. We have hard-working law enforcement officers, but there is a lot of paperwork involved in a tractor-trailer accident, and we want to be sure to alert the appropriate state authorizes that we’re looking for that accident report.   The call is free and so […]

At The Segal Law Firm, we know exactly how to handle your tractor-trailer case because we’ve been doing them for over thirty years. It all starts with a meeting here at the office so that we can explain what your case will look like and how we’ll be able to protect you and your family.   How to Prepare Give us a call here at the office to set up a time that we can meet and get to know each other, whether here in the office or over the phone. At the first meeting, it’s helpful if you have the accident report from the police and the dec card from your insurance company. Many people don’t realize that if the tractor-trailer’s insurance doesn’t offer enough money, your insurance may offer additional coverage.   If you don’t have those two things, don’t worry about it. We are used to investigating these cases here at the firm and will collect accident reports, medical reports and things of that nature, if needed.   Our First Meeting At the first meeting, I’ll explain your legal rights and what type of lawsuit you have on your hands. It’s really important that you ask me

Some of the most tragic accidents on our roads occur between passenger vehicles and tractor trailers. These accidents often end in life-altering injury or death. If you’re going to go up against a big trucking company, you’ve got to find a lawyer who has the experience with these cases. Not only that, they’ll need the finances to back the case, knowledge of the investigative process, and compassion for you and your family.   Experience One of the most important qualities your lawyer can have is experience. Tractor trailers are regulated by the federal government. And these are strict regulations. You need a lawyer who understands them completely. The rules affect the time that the driver’s allowed to drive the truck, how the truck has to be maintained, how it should be loaded, and everything in between.   Investigative Process You need a lawyer who understands how to investigate tractor trailer cases. Sometimes it’s as simple as an intoxicated driver. Other times, it’s much more complex. The driver may not have had the proper training or the company may not have completed the background check required by law. You want someone who knows what to expect and where to look for

Coal truck negligence leads to some of the most tragic and deadly accidents that we see here at The Segal Law Firm. There are several types of negligence that could lead to these horrific wrecks and your attorney must have experience with each and every one of them. That’s what it will take to fight these big coal companies and get you the results you deserve.   Driver Error Most commonly, we see a lot of drivers who were going too fast or hogging the road. They are in such a rush to get the load to the destination that they disregard speed limits or the condition of the road, and they end up causing an accident. Here in West Virginia, our roads are extremely narrow and these trucks are big, wide and heavy. When they crash into a car, it’s not going to be the rig that takes the beating.   Maintenance Issues There are more sophisticated types of accidents that occur due to improper maintenance. I’m handling a case right now where a coal truck’s brakes completely failed and my client was rear ended while she was legally stopped at a red light. She’s now paralyzed. There are

If you take a two thousand pound vehicle and put it up against an eighty thousand pound tractor trailer, which one do you think is going to end up losing that fight? The tractor trailer is going to crush your car like a sand pebble. You want to have someone on your side that understands the federal regulations that relate to these tractor trailers, and knows how to investigate and prove your case.   Experience is important in these cases from the very start of the investigation. You have to know about modern trucks and what they are capable of these days. Many of them have black boxes and GPS systems that can tell us a lot about what happened in the wreck. Many trucking companies can track their drivers in real time and tell us how fast the truck was going or when the driver last took a federally required break. Was the accident due to fatigue? Was it due to alcohol or drugs? Did load shift because it wasn’t loaded properly or was the tractor trailer poorly maintained? From the get-go, we have to be asking these questions. And if I don’t have the answer, I have to