Sharing the Road with Semi-Trucks and Trailers
Portland Truck Accident Lawyer, Steve Smucker; He Knows the Rules of the Road
Dos and Don’ts Following a Truck Accident
Wrongful Death Claims Arising from Highway Collisions
Common Types or Causes of Truck Accidents
Oregon Law States
Sharing the Road with Semi-Trucks and Trailers
Semi-trucks and trailers are large, they’re powerful, they’re heavy, and numerous. Most automobiles don’t stand a chance when colliding with one.
Because of the size differences between passenger cars and large trucks and the capacity for serious injury to occur, federal and state laws strictly regulate trucking companies and truck driver performance to ensure safety for other drivers.
Many freeway incidents involving commercial trucks can be traced to a truck driver’s
- Failure to secure the load properly.
- Failure to obey traffic laws.
- Failure to follow the rules on the number of hours he can drive without rest.
Trying cases involving commercial trucks, and semi-trucks and trailers requires an extensive understanding of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's rules and regulations.
Portland Truck Accident Lawyer, Steve Smucker
He Knows the Rules of the Road
Colliding with a truck can result in devastating, serious injuries. If you were injured in a collision with a commercial vehicle or a semi-truck and trailer, you will want an experienced trial lawyer. The trucker’s insurance company will ignore you, or offer little, if you are unrepresented.
Steve Smucker, a truck accident lawyer, has represented people with spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries across Oregon and Washington. He understands the implications for clients and families when catastrophic injuries occur. He knows there is tremendous expense and sacrifice involved in caring for someone hit by a semi-truck, or struck by a trucker’s unsecured load. He knows your access to proper medical care is critical to your recovery following a catastrophic bodily injury.
As a personal injury lawyer specializing in truck accident cases, Smucker understands the legal processes involved in recovering benefits for you as a seriously injured client. Most cases involving serious injury require filing a civil lawsuit. Filing a civil lawsuit enables both sides to better evaluate each other’s position, often resulting in a settlement without trial. Just because a lawsuit is filed does not necessarily mean you will have to appear in court.
It has proven true time and again that a lawyer who is fully prepared for trial will get his client the best settlement. Preparation in truck accident cases involves careful witness preparation, awareness of typical defense strategies, consultation with accident reconstruction engineers about vehicle dynamics, as well as a thorough understanding of the injury and its effect on your life.
If hired, Steve will represent you, and present your case with the knowledge, skill, and expertise you would expect from someone with over 20 years experience. Contact Steve for a free consultation.
For representative cases and clients’ experiences with Steve as their trial lawyer, see client case results.
Dos and Don’ts Following a Truck Accident
- Seek medical care immediately, attend follow-up visits and follow your doctor’s orders with regard to medication and therapy.
- Take digital pictures of the scene, your vehicle and injuries, and upload them to a digital file, for easy transfer to your lawyer.
- Call the police from the scene.
- Get witness information to corroborate date, time, road conditions, speed of travel, etc.
- Keep accident related medical information in a safe place.
- Call your insurance company, after talking to a personal injury lawyer.
- Do not give a statement or sign anything for the other driver’s insurance company without consulting an attorney.
Find out about your rights following an incident with a truck. Contact truck accident lawyer, Steve Smucker, for a free consultation.
Wrongful Death Claims Arising from Highway Collisions
Wrongful death claims exist for the estates of motorists who have been killed due to a truck driver’s negligence. If you are the personal representative of an estate seeking counsel in a wrongful death case, contact Steve Smucker for a free consultation.
Common Types or Causes of Truck Accidents
- Blind spots
- Unsecured loads
- Tired drivers
- Companies hiring inexperienced and unqualified drivers
Oregon Law States
UCJI 35.01: Basic Speed Rule
Oregon law prohibits a person driving a motor vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard to the traffic, surface, and width of the highway, the hazard at intersections, weather, visibility and any other conditions then existing.
UCJI 35.04: Lookout
It is the continuing duty of every driver to keep and maintain a reasonable lookout for other vehicles or persons on the street or highway. A reasonable lookout means such as would be maintained by a reasonably prudent person under the same or similar circumstances. A person does not comply with the duty to keep a reasonable lookout by simply looking and not seeing that which is plainly visible and which would have been seen be a reasonably prudent person under the same or similar circumstances
UCJI 35.05: Following Too Closely
Oregon law prohibits a driver from following another too closely, but does not attempt to determine any arbitrary or fixed distance at which one driver should follow another under all circumstances. The law provides that a driver shall not follow a vehicle more closely than is reasonable and prudent, having due regard for the speed of the vehicles, and the traffic upon and condition of the highway.