Tennessee updates in category: Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Today , I spoke at a continuing legal education seminar to other attorneys on jury selection . One of the topics was what to do in this era of tort reform . Most jurors have heard of this concept and have deep feelings of whether the civil justice system has gone crazy . In any type of serious personal injury trial , one must get the issue of tort reform on the table and have a...

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Nashville has had a significant decrease in traffic deaths in 2007. According to a press release by the Nashville Police Department , traffic deaths are down 22 percent this year . Police credit increased DUI enforcement as one the main factors in the decrease . The Governor's Highway Safety Office has funded extra police officers to patrol the streets in Nashville looking for drunk...

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I have been discussing the most important mistakes to avoid in a trucking accident case . A knowledge of the rules is critical. 49 C.F.R. section 387 sets the minmum levels of finanical responsibilty of trucking companies. A trucking must carry at least $750,000 dollars of insurance on loads of dry freight . One million dollars of coverage must be in place on loads of...

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Last Friday , I attended a seminar on Tractor trailer accident litigation . I thought I would mention the topics today and write about the topics over the next few days . There was an indepth review of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations . A lawyer who handles these cases must know these vital rules . I know I keep my copy on my desk. Truck driver fatique was discussed . ...

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Last Friday , I attended a seminar on Tractor trailer accident litigation . I thought I would mention the topics today and write about the topics over the next few days . There was a review of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations . A lawyer who handles these cases must know these vital rules . I know I keep my copy on my desk. Truck driver fatique was discussed . The amount...

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Yesterday was my first post on the ten most important rules to know about a truck accident case . Today , it is drug and alcohol testing issues . C.F.R. Section 382.303 provides the rules on post accident drug and alcohol testing . The rule requires as soon as practicable following an accident involving a commerical vehicle the driver shall test for alcohol under certain...

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act has over 1,000 rules and regulations that govern the tractor trailers that drive on the interstate highway system . However , there are only ten key laws that an attorney should know backwards and forwards in an truck accident lawsuit . In the next few posts , I will mention these top rules . The first one is 49 C.F.R. Section 387...

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One mistake made in truck accident cases is failing to move forward on the case quickly . A trucking company is only required to keep the bulk of its records for a very limited time . Driver logbooks are only required to be kept for a period of six months . The logbooks are important if you are claiming driver fatique . The destruction of these records are commonplace in the...

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Yesterday , a tanker truck overturned on Briley Parkway here in Nashville , Tennessee (TN) . The tanker truck overturned for some unknown reason killing the driver. I do not know what the tanker was hauling , but I could see the black smoke as I was heading home from work . Briley Parkway was closed for four hours while the truck accident was cleared . Tanker trucks are more prone...

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This is a follow up post on the recent court ruling on hours- of- service for tractor trailer trucks . I wrote on the Federal Court overturning the the rule increasing the hours that a driver can drive at one time . The Court found fault on the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminstration 's (FMCSA) model for failing to deal with the problem of the added fatique on drivers as a...

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In my last couple of posts on Tractor Trailer Accident Cases , I have been discussing problems to avoid in your case . Honesty with your attorney and during the discovery phase of your case is the most critical issue . Once you sue a trucking company , they will put your life under a microscope . The insurance company will dig up every dirty detail of your life in an...

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The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Bush Administration change in the hours permitted to operate tractor trailer trucks . The Bush adminstration changed the laws to help their friends in the trucking industry . The law was changed to allow truckers to drive 11 hours per day instead 10 hours . The ten hour requirement has been the law for years . Every one who takes a...

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Last week , I started writing about some mistakes to avoid in handling a truck accident case . You must have a expert witness who specializes in big trucks . This is an critical because the braking systems , steering systems and electronic information systems of the trucks are far different than that of a passenger car . The Trucking Company will have the best experts that money...

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On Monday , I was beginning to write about mistakes that lawyers make in truck accident cases until I wrote about the arbitration abuses . One mistake plaintiff's lawyers make is simply reviewing the accident report and getting your client's side of the story . You must be prepared on all details of the accident including a complete review of an engineering analysis by a...

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Recently, I attended the American Association for Justice annual convention in Chicago . One of the seminars I attended was put on by the Interstate Trucking Litigation Group . It was a great learning experience on these unique cases . So , I thought I would share some of the biggest mistakes made by attorneys in truck accident cases . The first mistake made is not starting...

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