Commercial Truck Accidents and Trucking Safety Rule Violations
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) impose a heightened duty of care upon commercial trucking companies and their drivers.
This is a duty beyond the common law requirement to merely act reasonably under the circumstances existing at any given time.
Under Oregon common law (the basis of negligence injury claims in Oregon state and federal courts) these regulations may be the basis of a legal claim of "negligence per se".
In addition, a violation of the FMCSRs themselves may be admissible as evidence of gross negligence and the need to impose punitive damages on the defendant(s) for extreme conduct.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations: The stated purpose the FMCSRs is set clearly forth in 49 CFR ยง 383.
1(a): "to help reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents, fatalities, and injuries".
Because these regulations were specifically intended to protect the motoring public, a violation may be considered to be negligence for the purpose of asserting a personal injury claim.
These regulations contain strict requirements regarding speed, the maximum allowed weight of the vehicle and load, daily vehicle safety inspections, etc.
Most state statutes and regulations expressly adopt the FMCSRs as state law.
Claims Based on Safety Rule Violations: Many jurisdictions recognize common law claims in negligence per se.
In a nutshell -Asserting a negligence per se claim means that a truck driver or his employer could be determined to have been negligent simply because they violated the FMCSRs.
If so, there is no need to apply a "reasonable person" standard and argue the matter to a judge or jury.
That is because these safety regulations were created for the expressed purpose of protecting the motoring public and, as such, the violation of these rules equates to negligence.
In some jurisdictions a party may move for partial "summary judgment" (a determination by the court that something has been conclusively established) regarding any claim or defense, any part a claim or defense, or any fact in dispute.
Therefore, if there is substantial proof of the violation of the FMCSRs the plaintiff may be able to have the defendant's negligence determined before trial.
To achieve a recovery the plaintiff will then only need to prove to the jury that they suffered an injury caused by the negligence.
A party can also submit a motion "in limine" (a pre-trial motion) seeking a determination by the judge during trial that the defendant violated the FMCSRs and therefore has been determined to have been negligent.
Again, if this occurs the plaintiff only has to then prove that they were injured by the defendant's negligence to achieve a recovery.
In either case the jury is instructed that the court has determined negligence.
This removes the issue from the jury's consideration and impresses upon them the significance of the defendant's conduct - they violated a federal law specifically intended to protect the public.
Preserving Evidence of Safety Rule Violations: It cannot be overstated that trucking accident claims must be investigated promptly.
Important evidence such as the driver's logs, daily vehicle inspection reports, photographs and video of the accident or scene of the accident, and witness statements should be gathered quickly.
That is because the evidence can be (and often is) lost or destroyed before it can be obtained by the lawyer representing the injured party.
All of this evidence will be important in determining whether violations of the MFCSRs occurred.
If you have been involved in a trucking accident consider contacting a lawyer early in the process so that they can have a licensed investigator obtain what evidence there is and send a "spoliation" letter to the trucking company telling them to preserve all evidence relating to the crash.
Otherwise, federal rules only require trucking companies to keep some crash related documents for a relatively short period of time before they can be discarded.
After filing suit substantial evidence of both the applicability and violation of the FMCSRs may be obtained during depositions of the truck driver or a corporate representative designated to testify on the trucking company's behalf.
It may also be obtained through written discovery devices such as "requests for admissions" or "interrogatories".
However, the more evidence you gather immediately after the crash the more likely you are to obtain additional useful evidence after filing a lawsuit.
If you have concerns about whether you need the assistance of an attorney to pursue a personal injury claim contact a local lawyer and ask for a consultation.
Keep in mind that most reputable lawyers do not charge a consultation fee and you shouldn't ever feel pressured to sign a representation agreement without having had time to think things over and have all of your questions answered.
This is a duty beyond the common law requirement to merely act reasonably under the circumstances existing at any given time.
Under Oregon common law (the basis of negligence injury claims in Oregon state and federal courts) these regulations may be the basis of a legal claim of "negligence per se".
In addition, a violation of the FMCSRs themselves may be admissible as evidence of gross negligence and the need to impose punitive damages on the defendant(s) for extreme conduct.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations: The stated purpose the FMCSRs is set clearly forth in 49 CFR ยง 383.
1(a): "to help reduce or prevent truck and bus accidents, fatalities, and injuries".
Because these regulations were specifically intended to protect the motoring public, a violation may be considered to be negligence for the purpose of asserting a personal injury claim.
These regulations contain strict requirements regarding speed, the maximum allowed weight of the vehicle and load, daily vehicle safety inspections, etc.
Most state statutes and regulations expressly adopt the FMCSRs as state law.
Claims Based on Safety Rule Violations: Many jurisdictions recognize common law claims in negligence per se.
In a nutshell -Asserting a negligence per se claim means that a truck driver or his employer could be determined to have been negligent simply because they violated the FMCSRs.
If so, there is no need to apply a "reasonable person" standard and argue the matter to a judge or jury.
That is because these safety regulations were created for the expressed purpose of protecting the motoring public and, as such, the violation of these rules equates to negligence.
In some jurisdictions a party may move for partial "summary judgment" (a determination by the court that something has been conclusively established) regarding any claim or defense, any part a claim or defense, or any fact in dispute.
Therefore, if there is substantial proof of the violation of the FMCSRs the plaintiff may be able to have the defendant's negligence determined before trial.
To achieve a recovery the plaintiff will then only need to prove to the jury that they suffered an injury caused by the negligence.
A party can also submit a motion "in limine" (a pre-trial motion) seeking a determination by the judge during trial that the defendant violated the FMCSRs and therefore has been determined to have been negligent.
Again, if this occurs the plaintiff only has to then prove that they were injured by the defendant's negligence to achieve a recovery.
In either case the jury is instructed that the court has determined negligence.
This removes the issue from the jury's consideration and impresses upon them the significance of the defendant's conduct - they violated a federal law specifically intended to protect the public.
Preserving Evidence of Safety Rule Violations: It cannot be overstated that trucking accident claims must be investigated promptly.
Important evidence such as the driver's logs, daily vehicle inspection reports, photographs and video of the accident or scene of the accident, and witness statements should be gathered quickly.
That is because the evidence can be (and often is) lost or destroyed before it can be obtained by the lawyer representing the injured party.
All of this evidence will be important in determining whether violations of the MFCSRs occurred.
If you have been involved in a trucking accident consider contacting a lawyer early in the process so that they can have a licensed investigator obtain what evidence there is and send a "spoliation" letter to the trucking company telling them to preserve all evidence relating to the crash.
Otherwise, federal rules only require trucking companies to keep some crash related documents for a relatively short period of time before they can be discarded.
After filing suit substantial evidence of both the applicability and violation of the FMCSRs may be obtained during depositions of the truck driver or a corporate representative designated to testify on the trucking company's behalf.
It may also be obtained through written discovery devices such as "requests for admissions" or "interrogatories".
However, the more evidence you gather immediately after the crash the more likely you are to obtain additional useful evidence after filing a lawsuit.
If you have concerns about whether you need the assistance of an attorney to pursue a personal injury claim contact a local lawyer and ask for a consultation.
Keep in mind that most reputable lawyers do not charge a consultation fee and you shouldn't ever feel pressured to sign a representation agreement without having had time to think things over and have all of your questions answered.
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