McAlester Truck Accident Attorney

Helping Victims of Semi-Trailer and Commercial Truck Accidents

Semi-trailers are particularly dangerous to other motorists. In a collision, a passenger car is no match for a truck with a gross weight of 20,000 pounds or more, traveling at highway speed. In almost every case in which a car driver and passengers survive such a collision, they are left with serious, often catastrophic, injuries.

An additional result is that victims must typically battle with the trucking company for compensation to cover hospital bills, doctor bills, rehabilitation, lost wages, and future earnings capacity. At Stipe Law Firm, our truck accident attorneys in McAlester have extensive experience standing up to trucking companies and are here to help when you need it most. Our lawyers are also highly effective in cases involving oil service truck accidents.

Understanding the Causes of Truck Accidents in McAlester

The first step in determining who is liable in any accident is determining the cause of the accident itself. These causes usually involve one or more of the following:

• Driver fatigue. This may be due to an excessively heavy work schedule, or it may be caused by the driver’s reluctance to rest because they are being paid by the mile.
• Driver intoxication or substance abuse. Some drivers abuse alcohol and drugs with disastrous consequences for other drivers. Driving a massive 18-wheeler while impaired can be criminally negligent.
• Aggressive driving. Truckers who tailgate smaller vehicles or change lanes regardless of the right of way can cause fatal accidents when they overrun a smaller vehicle. Drivers who are paid by the mile instead of salaried will often drive aggressively, change lanes unnecessarily, and exceed speed limits to make a few extra dollars.
• Failure to leave enough stopping distance. A large, fully loaded truck traveling at highway speed needs a much greater stopping distance than most other vehicles. Failure to leave enough room to allow for emergency braking is a major cause of rear-end collisions.
• Driving inappropriately for weather conditions. Failure to drive with proper tires or chains, or traveling at excessive speed on a wet or icy highway, is likely to cause a commercial truck to jackknife or overturn and collide with other vehicles nearby.
• Inadequate training and experience. Although both a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and special training and examinations are required to operate a semi-truck, continuing training is a necessity that some trucking companies ignore to the detriment of their own and other drivers.
• Improperly loaded truck. An improperly loaded truck will become unbalanced while driving on curves and is likely to overturn.
• Poorly maintained/defective truck. The potential danger an 18-wheeler can cause is increased when it also has bad brakes, inoperable lights, or defective steering.

Any of these factors can contribute to an accident leading to catastrophic injury or even death. Trucking companies and insurers will work hard to bury the evidence, but our firm fights for the result you need.

Contact McAlester's Trusted Truck Accident Attorneys Today. Seek Compensation with Our Skilled Legal Team.

Determining Fault in Your Oklahoma Truck Accident

Both investigative skills and detailed knowledge and understanding of trucking laws are required in order to have a successful case after an accident. A McAlester truck accident attorney or investigator must research the extensive records kept by the trucking company in order to determine its blame, if any. These records include the driver’s time and distance reports, the vehicle’s service and repair records, and any electronic data recordings of the truck’s speed, braking, and operating times.

Filing timely legal motions, requiring the company to retain the damaged truck for examination, is essential. Ultimately, defendants may include the truck driver, the trucking company, contractors who supplied parts or serviced the truck, the truck’s manufacturer, government entities who negligently failed to inspect or improperly inspected the truck, or even insurance companies. Our experienced legal team looks closely at your case to determine liability.

Understanding Liability in Truck Accidents

Unlike car accidents where liability is generally straightforward, several parties could be determined liable for a truck accident depending on the circumstances of the case. Since employers are responsible for their employees while they are on the clock, a company could be found liable for an accident if their driver was proved negligent.

The truck driver could be liable for an accident if they drive and maintain their own truck, or if they are an independent contractor for the company they are driving for. There are of course exceptions to these general rules, for instance, if a driver was running a personal errand on his own time with a company truck, the company may claim they are not liable. In all cases, truck accidents are usually complex and require a full investigation to determine liability and negligence.