An accident with a commercial truck or 18-wheeler can be fatal, or cause severe injuries to other drivers. However, the truck driver often remains unscathed due to the protective size and weight of the truck. When truck drivers are at fault in accidents, one of the more common reasons revealed to Austin injury attorneys is fatigue caused by spending too much time on the road. Federal Motor Carrier regulations attempt to limit the amount of time truck drivers can spend on the road in increments, or hours at a time. These numbers are kept in mandatory log books which the drivers must maintain.
Anyone who is ever involved in an accident with a semi truck or commercial 18-wheeler should seek a free consultation with an Austin injury attorney who can look further into the claim. There have been allegations that some trucking companies and their drivers keep two separate log books in order to bypass regulations – one of the books is the actual log, which might include the factual information about how long the driver was on the road at one time; the other is often distorted in order to make it look like the driver complies with federal regulations.
An Austin injury attorney can fully investigate what has caused an accident with a commercial truck, including discovering whether or not logs have been altered. There are many ways to catch falsification, including aligning various recorded stops for fuel or required scales with recorded times, as well as calling forth witnesses that may contradict the obfuscated record.
One of the reasons this is important for an Austin injury attorney to pursue is not just to show that a driver has illegally altered mandated logs, but also to show liability if an accident has been caused due to drowsiness, which is a factor that slows reaction time, and which may lead to drivers actually falling asleep on the road. Many families have been devastated by fatalities which have occurred because drivers of huge commercial trucks have either fallen asleep or have made poor judgments while under the influence of substances that they have used to keep themselves awake while covering long distances.
Penalties for altering logs can also add up for drivers who seek to distort the facts in their favor, but who are caught. Truck drivers found guilty can be sentenced to prison for up to five years, with an additional three years’ probation plus fines totaling a maximum of $250,000. Companies who are involved in altering books can also face long probationary periods, as well as fines up to half a million dollars.
The Mandelker Law Firm, located in Austin, Texas, is committed to personal representation through limited caseloads, hard work, lower fees, and direct contact with your attorney. Your Austin injury attorney will be dedicated to aggressive representation, integrity, and seeking the maximum recovery allowed by law in each case we take on.
