Distracted Driving Truck Accidents
Distracted driving kills scores of people every year in Virginia and leaves more than 11,000 injured. These crashes are particularly serious when the distracted driver is behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer weighing up to 80,000 pounds. Distracted driving truck accidents in Hampton can be extremely serious and even deadly.
Commercial drivers have been banned from using handheld devices at the wheel for over a decade under federal law. Virginia banned the use of handheld devices more recently. Unfortunately, motorists, including truckers, continue to violate these laws.
Distracted driving truck accidents are often catastrophic in Hampton. The Peninsula city sees severe congestion, particularly on the I-64 on the approaches to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Urban highways such as Mercury Boulevard see many serious wrecks while Big Bethel Road has some of the most deadly intersections in Virginia.
Hampton’s chaotic highways see frequent accidents involving big rigs and box trucks that leave other drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists with serious injuries. Distracted driving cases involving commercial vehicles in Hampton are invariably complicated. Victims of distracted driving truck accidents typically can sue a trucking company as well as a driver. However, big trucking companies do sometimes attempt to conceal the fact a driver was distracted to avoid making big payouts. It’s vital to hire personal injury lawyers with decades of experience in winning multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts from trucking companies.
Common Causes of Truck Driver Distraction
Truck drivers are prone to the same kinds of distraction exhibited by other motorists, but the consequences can be even more grave because they are behind the wheel of such heavy machinery. Truckers spend longer hours on the road than other drivers, which means they may be drowsy and slower to respond to hazards caused by distracted driving. Research from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) suggests drowsy-driving crashes are most likely to occur between midnight and 6 a.m. or in the late afternoon when the HRBT is backing up in Hampton and traffic from Newport News Shipyard is emptying onto the highways of the Peninsula.
Although the growth of smartphone technology has fueled the epidemic of distracted driving, Hampton truckers may be distracted in other ways that do not violate federal laws. This does not protect them in the civil courts, meaning they can still be held liable for your personal injuries. Long distances on the road can equate to boredom, and boredom breeds distractions. They include:
- Eating or drinking at the wheel;
- Reading maps or a navigational system;
- Being lost in their thoughts;
- Rubbernecking at accidents or other roadside incidents;
- Fiddling with their radios;
- Being distracted by a co-driver;
- Becoming agitated due to delivery time pressures.
Proving that a Trucker was Inattentive or Distracted
It’s not always easy for a trucking accident personal injury lawyer to prove a driver was distracted or inattentive. It takes considerable time, dedication, and resources. Our skilled Hampton legal team will work hard to establish the truck driver’s distracted behavior in the moments before the crash. Proving a driver was texting, or distracted in another way before a crash, goes a long way toward establishing liability for your injuries or the death of a loved one.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers will work up a case against the trucking company based on evidence such as black box data, surveillance or dashboard camera footage, cell phone records, witness testimony, and other important forms of evidence.
What Damages Can You Recover from a Distracted Driving Truck Accident in Hampton?
Victims of distracted driving trucking accidents often suffer catastrophic injuries. Even if they survive, their lives may never be the same again.
Our Hampton injury attorneys will fight to recover money for the following:
- Medical bills and future medical care costs;
- Physical pain and suffering;
- Emotional trauma from the wreck;
- Lost work income and/or ability to work;
- Lost enjoyment of life.
Call a Hampton Injury Lawyer to Hold a Trucker Accountable
America suffers from a serious shortage of truck drivers. Sadly, many of the drivers who travel on Hampton’s highways may lack training and professionalism. They may flout strict federal rules on the use of cell phones at the wheel. Often, they are inexperienced and ill-equipped for the arduous task of driving a big rig safely. The attorneys at Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers hold truckers and the companies that put them on the roads accountable. Even more importantly, we fight for justice and compensation for the victims of distracted truck crashes in Hampton.
Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers has a client meeting location on Queen Way W in the heart of Downtown Hampton. Our attorneys can also meet you at your home or your hospital bed for a free and confidential consultation. Call us today.
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