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At Dunk Law Firm, we truly care about each and every one of our clients. We know that being involved in an unexpected accident or losing a loved one in a tragic incident is overwhelming. We're here to help.
MEET THE TEAMcontact usWhen a truck driver ignores or forgets federal trucking regulations, it puts themselves and everyone on the road around them at serious risk of a crash and life-changing injuries. After all, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has created trucking regulations to prevent truck accidents.
If you were in a truck accident while driving through Memphis, then a trucking regulation violation could be to blame. Dunk Law Firm and our experienced team of attorneys know where to look to prove it. Our goal from start to finish is getting you as much compensation for your damages by maximizing the truck driver’s liability with the careful use of evidence and arguments, both in and out of court.
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The FMCSA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), sets a long list of trucking regulations that most truckers need to follow whenever they are driving a commercial vehicle.
FMCSA regulations for truck drivers apply to:
Violating any of these regulations can be dangerous, and it can increase a truck driver’s liability considerably. Materials like driving logs and the trucking company’s history of violations can be useful to prove that a violation occurred.
In most circumstances, a truck driver can work up to 14-hours in a shift with 11-hours or less behind the wheel. A five-day workweek means the trucker can work a 70-hour workweek. Once the 70th hour is reached, the trucker must be off work for at least 34 consecutive hours. Also, a 30-minute break must occur by the trucker’s 8th hour in their shift.
The problem with FMCSA hours-of-service (HOS) regulations is that they are flexible and easily faked. Truck drivers can fabricate their work logs to make it seem like they took a break at the right time. Other truckers can even work on their break as long as they are not driving.
Furthermore, a truck driver can work 7 days a week as long as they are only on duty for 60 hours of those 7 days. All of these loose regulations can contribute to truck driver exhaustion, which is a significant cause of many truck accidents.
A trucking company can be ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for an hours-of-service violation. The amount can increase to $16,000 for repeat violations, or $75,000 if the trucker was transporting hazardous materials. Fines paid to the FMCSA are hardly problematic for most trucking companies, though, who are notorious for weighing the cost of a violation against the profits they can get if they overwork and overschedule their drivers.
Costs that really make trucking companies pay attention come from a truck accident claim filed against them. If you were hurt because a truck driver violated FMCSA regulations, like HOS rules, then we want to help you seek as much compensation as possible from that trucker and their trucking company.
You can be compensated for:
Dunk Law Firm in Memphis is dedicated to elevating our client cases and knocking out the opposition with a carefully calibrated argument that they never expected. We are here to listen to you if you were hurt after a truck driver wantonly violated a federal trucking regulation. When it comes to pursuing justice, no one can say they are as eager as we are.
