Miami Truck Accidents Attorney
In 2016, there were 395,785 documented crashes in Florida. That’s over 1,000 traffic accidents per day. In Miami-Dade County alone, 8,314 of these crashes involved commercial motor vehicles such as tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers, semi-trucks and other buses and medium or heavy trucks. These truck crashes caused 921 injuries and 17 deaths in Miami-Dade. Sadly, the trend for truck accidents in Miami is increasing every year.
If you have been injured in a Miami truck accident, personal injury attorney Michael Goldfarb will dedicate his knowledge, skills and resources toward holding the truck driver and trucking company accountable for their negligence and seeing that you get the care and compensation you need after a serious truck accident. Cases involving commercial truck accidents are often complex and difficult; Goldfarb Law has the experience and commitment you need to obtain successful results.
Miami truck accidents have the potential to cause serious injury
The average passenger vehicle weighs about 4,000 pounds. In contrast, a fully loaded tractor-trailer may weigh 80,000 pounds or more. At highway speeds, the force delivered by a semi-truck on a smaller, lighter vehicle is tremendous, and when injury or death occurs, this tragedy is nearly always visited on the occupants of the passenger vehicle as opposed to the truck driver.
Most drivers are wary of driving around commercial trucks and do their best to keep their distance and stay out of a tractor-trailer’s blind spots, but this is not always possible at every second. Negligence by a truck driver or trucking company can still cause an accident in many different ways. Some of the main causes of Miami truck accidents are:
Driver fatigue – Truck drivers are paid by the miles driven or by the trip and must stick to a tight schedule in order to reach their destination on time. To some, this means driving longer than is safe, speeding or making reckless driving choices. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) imposes maximum hours of service regulations on drivers to help avoid drowsy driving, distraction caused by fatigue, or falling asleep at the wheel. Unfortunately, drivers routinely ignore these government regulations and drive longer than they should, even going to the trouble to falsify their log books to avoid sanctions by government inspectors. As a skilled truck accident attorney, Michael Goldfarb knows how to investigate a truck crash and uncover evidence of driver irregularities.
Improper Truck maintenance – An 18-wheeler traveling on the highway needs about 400 feet to come to a stop due to a traffic slowdown, an object in the road or other emergency. Trucking companies have a duty to keep their fleets well-maintained with tires and brakes in good condition, along with functioning signal lights. Unfortunately, annual roadside inspections turn up large numbers of trucks that have to be immediately pulled from service due to unsafe tires, out-of-adjustment brakes, missing brake components and other serious safety hazards.
Aggressive Legal Help is Necessary after a Miami Truck Accident
Even with large commercial insurance policies, trucking companies and their insurers will fight hard to avoid liability in a serious trucking accident, knowing the likely cost of a catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Be sure and choose a skilled trial attorney to represent you; truck accident cases must often be extensively litigated before a satisfactory settlement can be reached. In Miami, call Goldfarb Law at 305-433-3200 for a no-cost consultation to discuss your potential claims with a skilled and effective Miami truck accident attorney.