Experienced Denver Truck Accident Law Firm

We’re all aware that we have to coexist with trucks on Denver’s roads. Trucks provide for all of our everyday necessities, including food, clothes, and medication. The economy is kept humming by a strong trucking force.

Nearly 3,000 commercial vehicles are projected to be registered in the Bay State. These cars need drivers that are completely certified to operate by CDL licensing regulations. Despite this, trucking businesses sometimes employ drivers who are not completely certified to properly operate a truck on Denver roads, putting everyone on the road at risk.

Shortages of drivers result in poor hiring practices.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has cautioned about truck driver shortages in recent years. In the United States, around three million truck drivers work, with the majority earning little more than $47,000 per year on average.

Nonetheless, the workforce is insufficient to meet the demands of the United States. While a high school certificate may be sufficient to work as a truck driver, individuals who do so must realize that it is more than a job—it is a way of life.

Drivers are often absent from their families for days, if not weeks, at a time. This may make it more difficult to recruit personnel who are appropriately qualified. As a consequence, trucking businesses may recruit drivers who are less qualified.

CDL Licensing Requirements

Employers are required by federal law to vet each driver before employing them.

The following are examples of screenings that may be conducted:

Medical exams – It’s not hard to imagine that medical disorders like epilepsy or sleep apnea may influence a driver’s ability to operate a huge truck properly. Commercial drivers must undergo various medical examinations.

Eye tests – To operate any motor car, drivers must fulfil minimal visual criteria, such as those imposed by a license request.

Background checks – All drivers must pass a background check, including fingerprint checks for hazardous waste handlers.

Drug and alcohol testing — All drivers must submit to and pass drug and alcohol tests before being hired.

Checking driving records — Employers must guarantee that the truck driver they recruit has never been convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Before employing a driver, the business must do a background check. Written examinations, road tests, and training hours are all required of drivers. Before hiring, employers must check for identity, job suitability, driving records, age limitations, citizenship requirements, and relevant certificates. These difficult criteria are becoming more difficult to meet as a result of the truck drivers scarcity.

When Employers Hire Truck Drivers Who Aren’t Qualified

A trucking firm, like any other business, is driven by profit. Getting a driver behind the wheel moving things is the method to generate money, not an empty truck idling in their parking lot. This might lead to a company cutting corners in the recruiting process—or in how they treat drivers once they’ve been hired.

The following are some examples of negligent behavior by a trucking company:

Ignoring pre-employment red flags — A firm may fail to ensure that the driver has a clean driving record free of reckless driving or driving while intoxicated, and the driver they are recruiting may have a past terrible driving record. Once a driver with a risky driving record gets employed, the odds are that they will continue to drive dangerously, endangering others on Denver’s roads.

Inadequate post-hire training — Even if drivers satisfy the minimum hiring standards, they must still be trained. Employers may not sufficiently address fundamental concerns such as safety protocols, defensive driving abilities, and ensuring the driver knows correct driving practices since they are eager to get their fleet up and running.

Inadequately constructed incentives — Offering incentives to Denver truck drivers is a fantastic approach to entice them to take work. When such incentives are based on how quickly something can be delivered, drivers may be breaking work hours restrictions and speeding.

Other concerns with recruiting, training, and employment may make a trucking business partially liable for accidents caused by untrained truck drivers in Denver. A Denver truck accident lawyer may examine your truck accident details and assist you in determining if the employer’s actions placed you and others in danger on Denver roads.

When Unqualified Drivers Navigate Denver’s Highways

We all know that accidents may happen to anybody at any time. However, a truck moving on Denver roads driven by an inexperienced or unskilled driver may cause chaos and change the lives of anybody who crosses their path.

The following are some of the things that proper training may help you avoid:

Rear-end collisions — A truck is unable to stop as rapidly as a car. Coming to a complete stop at 65 miles per hour, which is the speed limit on many Bay State roadways, would take the equivalent of two football fields. Rear-end collisions may result in significant injuries to the driver of the car in front of the truck and more serious collisions involving numerous cars.

Rollover accidents — A truck going too quickly may topple over while making sharp curves, especially on-ramps. During their training, a licensed driver gained the abilities required to avoid the issues connected with handling quick turns—assuming they had sufficient instruction.

The last thing you want to do is share the road with a driver who is still learning the ropes while towing a fully loaded trailer, putting you and others at risk of serious injury or death.

Accidents at high altitude — You’re certainly acquainted with the Storrow Drive Bridge if you live or work in Denver. You don’t have to live or work in this town to have heard the term “being Storrowed.”

Moving trucks cannot pass under this famed bridge without scratching their roofs. Drivers who disregard the warning signs or believe they can get away with it may create disastrous crashes that end in the truck being wedged under a bridge, debris flying into other cars, and the truck’s top shearing off, causing significant injury to other motorists.

Jackknife collisions — These collisions happen when a truck driver is unskilled or lacks the expertise or awareness to properly utilize their brakes to keep the tractor and trailer components of the car aligned. If the truck veers out of control and collides with other cars, a jackknifing catastrophe may occur, resulting in devastating casualties.

Collisions that occur off the road as well as head-on collisions — On Denver roads, drowsy truck drivers, inattentive drivers, and drunk drivers may put everyone in danger of harm. The trucking industry performs drug tests regularly and adheres to tight hours-of-service regulations for a reason: to avoid the potentially fatal repercussions of a big rig driver dozing off or falling asleep at the wheel.

The hazards of inexperienced truck drivers are real, and anybody who has been injured or lost a loved one due to an inexperienced truck driver in Denver knows how devastating truck accidents can be. If you are injured or lose a loved one due to a trucking company’s refusal to hire drivers who can’t be trusted to operate to the highest standards, the company should be held liable.

If this relates to you, speak with a Denver truck accident lawyer right away to learn about your legal options and what measures you should take to hold them responsible.

Unqualified Denver truck drivers cause injuries.

Accidents involving trucks may happen in the blink of an eye. The weight discrepancies between passenger cars and trucks are startling. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), the typical car weighs between 2,400 and 5,000 pounds when empty, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

The weight of a large empty rig ranges from 20,000 to 26,000 pounds. Consider what would happen if two empty cars collided. Assume the car is now completely loaded, weighing in at over 80,000 pounds. When there is such a large weight imbalance, a person’s odds of dying or suffering a catastrophic injury skyrocket.

If a person does not die as a result of the event, they may suffer from the following injuries:

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) – Victims of TBI who are lucky enough to regain consciousness face a lifetime of cognitive, motor, and other deficits from which they may never fully recover.

Spinal cord injuries – These injuries typically require a person to adjust to a whole new life in which they are paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair.

Burn injuries — When a truck transports dangerous products, or an accident ends in a fire, victims may have long-term stress, several skin grafting surgeries, and permanent scarring.

Amputations — Victims of truck accidents may lose a limb as a result of crushing injuries. These patients will need surgery, maybe prostheses, and will have to undergo extensive rehabilitation.

Neck and back injuries — You should see a doctor right once if you have a neck or back injury. Unfortunately, these injuries seldom heal completely. Victims are often forced to endure unbearable suffering for the rest of their lives.

These are just a few of the injuries that a victim may get in a tractor-trailer collision. Contact an attorney with expertise holding trucking firms accountable for negligent hiring practices to determine the degree of your injuries and fight for the finances you need to care for your family. At the same time, you concentrate on recuperating from your injuries.

Using the Services of a Truck Accident Lawyer

If you have lost a loved one in a truck accident or if you have been injured in a truck accident, you may be filled with questions. Victims often contemplate not hiring an attorney because they feel they can manage the claims procedure independently. This is a common blunder.

When victims represent themselves in a claim, insurance adjusters and claims workers realize greater leeway. They may neglect your claim until you give up; in other situations, they may make a rapid settlement offer in the hopes that you agree; and in yet other cases, they may simply deny guilt and refuse to compensate you.

Jeremy D. Earle, JD is a truck accident lawyer.

You hire more than a lawyer when you engage an attorney to aid you with your disqualified truck driver claims. You are employing an advocate who will get the information you need and fight for fair compensation for your losses. While money cannot replace a loved one or your pre-accident life, it may help you establish a more secure financial future by contacting a Denver truck accident lawyer.

Regardless of the industry in which they operate, no organization should recruit unqualified employees. When a trucking firm recruits incompetent truck drivers, however, lives are placed in jeopardy. If you or a loved one is hurt because a trucking firm failed to take reasonable precautions to verify that their truck driver was certified, they should be held accountable. You can hold them responsible, especially with the aid of an expert truck accident attorney.