Truck Driver Fatigue Accident Lawyer in North Hollywood

California is one of the leading states in the nation for deadly large truck accidents and is surpassed by only Texas for the number of fatal collisions involving commercial vehicles. Truck driver drowsiness is a leading cause of commercial vehicle crashes, with too many truckers staying behind the wheel past the point of exhaustion.

A Southern California truck accident caused by driver fatigues can be life-altering, leaving you with painful and traumatic injuries and mental anguish. Unfortunately, a crash involving trucks or other large commercial vehicles can also put families into financial uncertainty as medical bills pile up and the injured person cannot work during recovery.

At Shamsi Law Firm, APC, we believe truck accident victims deserve a strong advocate to help them pursue the compensation they deserve after a crash caused by an overly tired trucker. There is no question that truck driving is a stressful and demanding job. However, when the careless actions of fatigued drivers cause an accident, you deserve maximum compensation for your injuries and financial losses.

Are you ready to learn more about your legal options for recovering compensation from a legal team who listens to you? Contact an experienced truck accident lawyer in North Hollywood with Shamsi Law Firm, APC. We are ready to provide a free case analysis and information about your best legal options in truck accident cases.

Why You Need Our Law Firm After a Fatigued Trucker Crash 

Why do you need a North Hollywood truck accident lawyer following a crash with a fatigued truck driver? The answer is simple. Big rig accidents caused by fatigue are significantly more complicated than other traffic accidents.

Trucking companies and insurance companies are profit-driven entities. They focus on their bottom lines and not on your health and safety. Their priority is protecting themselves from liability and minimizing what they must pay out. They want you to settle quickly for less than the total value of your losses. They can exploit your vulnerability and ignorance of the situation to their benefit and your detriment. The insurance company is not on your side, but our personal injury attorney is.

You also need a lawyer fighting for you because proving truck driver fatigue can be challenging. Much of the evidence required to establish that a driver was too tired at the time of the accident – like black box data and hours of service logs – is trucking company property. Often, it takes aggressive legal intervention to get the evidence needed to build a compelling fatigued truck driving accident claim.

Causes of Fatigued Truck Driver Accidents in Southern California 

There are several ways fatigued truck driving accidents can occur. Some of the most common causes of fatigued truck driver accidents in Southern California include:

• Driving for extended periods in violation of hours of service (HOS) regulations
• Driving overnight and at odd hours
• Driving while on medication that causes drowsiness
• Lack of sleep
• Undiagnosed sleep disorders
• Medical conditions that make driving dangerous

Some truck drivers bow to the pressure of their employers and push themselves beyond their physical and mental limits. Truck driving can be a stressful and demanding career with long hours driven by tight deadlines.

How Does Fatigue Contribute to North Hollywood Truck Crashes? 

Most people don’t think twice about getting behind the wheel after a rough night. Unfortunately, that is one of the most dangerous things truck drivers can do. Data from a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation shows that 62 percent of survey respondents admitted to driving while overly drowsy. Truck drivers controlling nearly 80,000 pounds of metal, glass, and cargo must be fully aware of their surroundings and ready to respond to changes in weather and traffic patterns instantly.

Yet, how does fatigue contribute to North Hollywood truck accidents? Studies show that sleep deprivation affects the human body in many of the same ways as excess alcohol. Eighteen hours awake is comparable to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 percent. That means reaction time, coordination, and judgment are impaired in drivers experiencing fatigue. After 20 hours awake, the body is significantly more impaired, the equivalent of a 0.08 percent BAC. The legal limit for California drivers with commercial driver’s licenses is 0.04 percent or higher.

Fatigue can impair driving ability and lead to:

• Swerving between lanes
• Issues with maintaining speed
• Issues with maintaining a safe following distance
• Slow reaction times
• Poor decision-making
• Poor hand-eye coordination
• Impaired judgment
• Impaired depth perception

Truck drivers may also fall asleep behind the wheel due to excess fatigue, leaving no one in control of a large and potentially destructive vehicle.

Truck Driver Hours of Service Regulations

The federal government recognizes the devastation that can come from large truck crashes related to fatigued driving. To help curb fatigue in truck driving, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration imposes strict hours of service (HOS) regulations on the hours truck drivers can stay behind the steering wheel. Hours of service regulations restrict how long a driver can operate a large commercial truck within specific timeframes. 

Commercial truck drivers can drive only a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, according to federal law. Truck drivers must also take 30-minute rest breaks after 8 cumulative hours behind the wheel. The agency also has federal regulations regarding sleeping periods for truck drivers using sleeper berths.

Drowsy Driving Statistics in Southern California 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration estimates that at least 13 percent of accidents involving large trucks and commercial vehicles are due to driver fatigue. Data from the Governors Highway Safety Association suggests that 10 to 20 percent of large truck or bus crashes in California in one recent year involved a tired driver. 

California recorded 364 fatal crashes involving large commercial trucks in one year, coming in behind only Texas for the most fatal truck crashes in the nation. 

What Can I Do If a Fatigued Driver Caused My Accident?

The best way to protect yourself after an accident with a tired trucker is to enlist the help of an experienced fatigued truck driver accident attorney. Our North Hollywood truck accident lawyer can help you manage the often-complicated process of filing a personal injury claim. The trucking company controls hours of service logs and other evidence indicating a truck driver was overly tired at the time of the collision. Recovering that evidence can take a tenacious legal intervention.

Our personal injury lawyer can also support you during your recovery, giving you the precious time you need to heal. In the meantime, we can work aggressively behind the scenes to build a solid claim and negotiate for all the money you deserve. The stress of handling the complex claim process and going head-to-head with an intimidating trucking company and its insurer is off your shoulders.

What can you do if a fatigued driver causes an accident? You can turn to Shamsi Law Firm, APC, for a resourceful, experienced North Hollywood truck driver fatigue attorney who can help you maximize your compensation.

How Our North Hollywood Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help  

At Shamsi Law Firm, APC, our legal team wants to help you recover the money you deserve. We fight to protect your rights, collect and preserve vital evidence, and negotiate on your behalf for justice and maximum compensation.  

Discuss your case with us today. Contact our North Hollywood truck accident lawyer for a free consultation.