Posted on January 20, 2017 in Truck Accidents

Do you ever see a semi-truck driver make a boneheaded move on the road and wonder if the driver got his commercial driver's license out of a Crackerjack box?

It might not be that great of a stretch, unfortunately. Many truck drivers have not gotten adequate training before getting behind the wheel of these big rigs.

That just can't be good. Consider the extreme weight and size of these behemoths. Add a cargo load of volatile chemicals or flammable liquids and you basically have a rolling time bomb in the lane next to you.

Every year, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that 5,000 people die and another 100,000 suffer injuries in collisions with large commercial semi-truck s. One study determined that roughly 27 percent of accidents involving big rigs were attributed to the driver's inadequate driving training.

At any given time, American companies are short around 50 K truck drivers who are needed to start shipping cargo from across town and from coast to coast. This causes companies to hire drivers who haven't received enough training to safely operate their big rigs.

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 Posted on January 13, 2017 in Car Accidents

Sometimes those who have been injured in auto accidents may have to deal with subrogation rights with an insurance company. While generally this action is taken between insurance companies, occasionally the injured party may become involved.

Subrogation deals with the legal rights of insurance companies to pay out claims that are owed by other parties, usually another insurance company. The company that initially paid the claim must then collect its money back from the liable party at a later point.

In most cases, subrogation is the final step in an insurance claim. For some claims, it will never be an issue. When insurance companies pursue subrogation, they are legally obliged to inform their injured customers of that.

The insurance company's actions could affect you in a couple of ways. The terms of your policy require your cooperation in their attempts at recovery, so you can't waive other people's liability for your injuries or damages or otherwise release them or their insurer from their responsibility to repay the claim.

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 Posted on January 06, 2017 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

You can't drive down a highway in Virginia without passing scores of corporate logos plastered onto the rolling billboards known as semi trucks.

Besides their advertising value, these logos have a legal purpose. Known as "logo liability," these familiar emblems and images may determine the extent of a company's liability if one of those trucks is involved in an accident.

When commercial carriers haul freight for compensation using drivers in leased trucks instead of their own company fleet, that driver is an independent contractor. This can limit the company's liability in negligence cases.

But because huge corporations can use this loophole to dodge responsibility for an accident victim's injuries and other damages, the feds stepped in with regulations mandating that commercial carriers:

"shall have exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the duration of the lease [and] shall assume complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment for the duration of the lease."

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 Posted on December 29, 2016 in Drunk Driving Accidents

Instead of meeting the challenges of a new year, some revelers who encounter drunk drivers on the highway this New Year's could be spending their last moments alive.

As one of the most deadly holidays of the year, New Year's Eve traditionally causes a year-end spike in traffic deaths attributed to drunk driving.

Last year in America, an average of 31 individuals died in collisions involving impaired drivers on each of the six days beginning on New Year's Eve and ending on Jan. 5, Bankrate.com reported.

Those deaths were in addition to those fatalities that occurred over the Christmas holidays from Christmas Eve through Dec. 28. Those days racked up, on average, 34 deaths from alcohol-related crashes. Over the entire 2015 holiday season from Christmas to New Year's, 259 died in DUI wrecks.

In December 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that nationwide, 840 individuals lost their lives due to alcohol impairment behind the wheel.

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 Posted on December 23, 2016 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

Winter storms have already wreaked death and destruction for residents of northern Virginia and Maryland even before motorists headed out for the holiday weekend.

CNN reported that ice-covered roads were to blame for three deaths in the two states on Dec. 17.

Storm conditions left dozens of other drivers and passengers stranded on stretches of Interstate 95 near the Baltimore area where one major vehicle pile-up was estimated to involve 55 cars.

The wintry weather caused deadly conditions around 5 a.m., sending 11 to area hospitals. A tweet from Baltimore County's official Twitter account indicated that as many as 20 vehicles collided near Rosedale on the I-695, with six requiring hospitalization.

The same winter weather advisory from the National Weather Service warning of freezing rain and sleet in the Baltimore metro area caused slick roads in northern Virginia.

According to the Virginia State Police, 41 weather-related collisions occurred during the same time period. One death was reported in Fairfax County on Interstate 495, CNN reported.

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 Posted on December 16, 2016 in Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents

When tragedy strikes and a loved one loses his or her life, families struggle to cope with their losses. But when those losses were due to negligence or careless disregard for the safety of others, it's understandable to get angry and want to seek justice.

Thankfully, we do not live in a vigilante society. But that doesn't mean that you must turn the other cheek and give the at-fault party a pass for taking the life of your loved one.

The civil court system was designed to give those who were wronged a clear path to seek justice. That's what we strive to provide for our clients who file wrongful death litigation after the heartbreaking loss of their loved ones.

Sometimes these lawsuits are filed in addition to criminal charges related to the fatal accident that the at-fault party is already facing. However, it's important to understand that these are two entirely separate matters. Civil cases can go forward whether criminal charges are filed and even if the defendant winds up acquitted.

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 Posted on December 09, 2016 in Truck Accidents

Truck drivers are some of the most experienced drivers on the road. They literally drive for a living, with many of them working on the roads for more than 40 hours a week. So, why are serious injuries so often linked to accidents with commercial trucks?

The reason the injuries are so serious has less to do with the drivers and more to do with the trucks themselves. While experience may help truck drivers avoid accidents, once they are involved in a wreck, the basic physics of the situation come into play.

In short, many passengers cars weigh only a few thousand pounds. Small coups, sports cars and hybrids often weigh the least, but even a large pickup truck doesn't have that much weight. For instance, the minimum curb weight for a Ford F-150, one of the most common work trucks, is just over 4,000 pounds.

A semi truck, on the other hand, can weigh around 80,000 pounds. The weight sometimes climbs even beyond that for fully-loaded trucks. Obviously, a crash between the two vehicles is not close to equal, and those in the smaller vehicle are in more danger.

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 Posted on December 01, 2016 in Car Accidents

Although Manassas does not typically have harsh winters, the city can definitely be impacted by a winter storm or two. Drivers should learn to anticipate and adapt to the wintry conditions that can seriously affect the driving conditions around the area.

Below are some precautions to take when Old Man Winter is bearing down:

— Reduce speeds in inclement weather conditions. It doesn't require ice to make highways slick — rain and freezing rain can wreak havoc.

— During the winter months, it's especially important to carry an emergency supply kit, fully charged cellphone and working car charger.

— Sometimes accidents occur far from home, so if you are setting out on a winter road trip, let someone know of your plans and route as well as your expected arrival time.

— If you get into a skid, steer in the direction that the front-end should go and take your foot off the gas. It's important to know beforehand if your vehicle has anti-lock brakes. These should never be pumped. It's recommended to brake steadily and smoothly instead.

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 Posted on November 25, 2016 in Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Could a labor shortage in the trucking industry be contributing to dangerous highway conditions? Some industry insiders have concerns it might.

The dearth of eligible truckers with valid commercial driver's licenses is causing trucking companies to turn to a different demographic group to drive the 19-wheelers needed to move consumer goods and raw material across the United States — senior citizens.

The recruitment efforts of elderly commercial drivers has been unabashedly aggressive, according to an undercover investigation done by CBS News. Approximately 10 percent of the current trucking workforce are older than 65, with recruiters hiring on new drivers in their 70s or 80s, as long as they can still pass the physical. Reportedly, some commercial truckers are older than 90.

While it might give many pause to consider that the driver of the big rig beside them in the fast lane is that old, it is not illegal to hire elderly drivers. If anything, the reverse is true, as age discrimination for employment purposes is prohibited by federal laws.

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 Posted on November 18, 2016 in Car Accidents

If, after a car accident, you are left feeling as if you are being played by the at-fault party's insurance company, you may be justified in feeling that way. There are many tips, tricks and dodges for insurance companies to avoid paying claimants the true value for their claims. Their first priority is not your best interests. It is their company's profit margin.

The first thing to understand is that the insurance company wants to pay you as little as possible, which is why they low-ball their first offer, hoping you will take it. If so, they can close out the file and move on. But there is always room for negotiation when dealing with an insurance company.

Insurance adjusters also use delaying tactics to stall claimants. If they get discouraged and desperate enough, they will likely accept any offer they receive. Denying claims, or parts of claims, is a common trick, too. The adjuster may allege that a claimant is malingering, or that a pre-existing condition is the source of his or her pain instead of the car accident. For a layperson, this can be very difficult to refute. They can wind up being stuck with a pile of unpaid doctor or hospital bills.

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