Driver Fatigue Accident Lawyer in Huntington, WV

Driver fatigue is a major problem in the trucking industry. If you were in an accident with a truck driver who fell asleep or was inattentive behind the wheel, you deserve compensation. Accidents like these can leave life-altering injuries and permanent disabilities to those involved, and tragically, a significant number of these accidents occur every year.

At Warner Law Offices, PLLC, our truck accident lawyers in Huntington, WV, are dedicated to securing the justice and compensation you deserve after a major crash with a semi truck. We are fully prepared to aggressively champion the rights of working West Virginians like yourself. To confidentially review your case with a Huntington driver fatigue accident attorney, reach out to our offices.

Why Working with a Driver Fatigue Accident Lawyer is Critical

Accidents involving commercial vehicles and driver fatigue are inherently complex. As a victim, you are challenging powerful national trucking corporations with large, aggressive defense teams and major insurance carriers that aim to minimize any payout to those injured in accidents like yours.

Engaging an experienced West Virginia driver fatigue accident attorney is essential to leveling this playing field. Our driver fatigue accident lawyers in Huntington are prepared to:

Thoroughly investigate all available evidence of driver fatigue and its role in your collision.
Aggressively negotiate a fair and substantial settlement with reluctant insurance companies.

Take your case all the way to a jury trial if necessary to maximize your compensation after a severe 18-wheeler wreck.

Why People Trust Warner Law Offices, PLLC

At Warner Law Offices, PLLC, we are committed to helping victims like you recover full and fair compensation after a big rig crash caused by a drowsy or exhausted truck driver. We are experts at representing those harmed by truckers who fell asleep behind the wheel or were too fatigued to maintain situational awareness.

We Have Championed West Virginians Since the Year 2000

Our award-winning, experienced attorneys are not intimidated by large corporations and insurance conglomerates. We are a law firm committed to ensuring the people of West Virginia are heard. With deep roots in the community, our attorneys advocate relentlessly for the people we grew up with. Our case results speak for themselves, with millions recovered in truck and vehicle accident claims and personal injury lawsuits.

We Know the Evidence Required to Win Your Case

Thanks to our extensive experience, our legal team knows exactly what is required to build a powerful trucking accident claim. We meticulously examine every available piece of information, including:

Driver logbook data and electronic logging device (ELD) records
The semi-truck’s onboard “black box” (Event Data Recorder) information
Fuel and toll receipts, along with mileage records
Witness testimony and physical evidence from the crash site

By analyzing this combined information, we can build a case regarding the cause of the accident and identify those liable for the crash.

If We Do Not Win, You Owe Us Nothing

Our Huntington driver fatigue attorneys operate on a contingency fee basis. This means that if we do not win your case, you owe us nothing. We put your needs and success first and make sure we do not cause any more financial burden for you and your family.

Identifying and Proving Fault in Driver Fatigue Cases

Establishing fault in a driver fatigue case is rarely straightforward. Our driver fatigue accident lawyers at Warner Law Offices, PLLC, will conduct an in-depth analysis of the circumstances surrounding your accident and collect all relevant data to reconstruct the trucking accident and determine all accountable parties. Key pieces of evidence we collect include:

The Semi-Truck’s Black Box (EDR): The Event Data Recorder (EDR) captures critical information immediately before, during, and after a collision. EDR data can reveal the truck’s speed, the driver’s braking patterns, and other inputs just before impact.
Logistical Data: We meticulously cross-reference the EDR data with the driver’s logbook, fuel receipts, and mileage records.

By piecing together these fragments of data, we can build a comprehensive and detailed picture of the crash. A strategically built claim will work to reveal the true extent of the truck driver’s physical exhaustion or mental distraction, whether the driver received the legally required sleep or breaks, or any other violations of FMCSA hours-of-service regulations or traffic laws.

Who Can Be Held Accountable for a Driver Fatigue Trucking Accident?

The parties liable for a trucking accident can vary significantly, which necessitates our comprehensive analysis of all available evidence. Potential liable parties in a driver fatigue crash may include:

The Truck Driver: for negligence in operating the vehicle
The Trucking Company: for encouraging long hours, providing inadequate training, or negligent hiring practices
The Cargo Loading Company: if the truck was carrying an unbalanced or inadequately secured load, this could contribute to a lack of control
The Maintenance Team: if a mechanical failure made the accident worse
The Manufacturer of the Semi-Truck: in cases involving crashes caused by or contributed to by defective parts

Our Huntington driver fatigue accident attorneys are relentless in ensuring all negligent parties are held accountable for the harm they inflicted, including other reckless motorists who may have contributed to the large truck accident.

Common Types of Collisions Caused by Trucker Fatigue

Fatigue causes a driver’s attention to waver, leading to behaviors such as drifting into adjacent lanes, weaving on the highway, suddenly accelerating or decelerating, or veering off the road. This unpredictable, erratic operation poses a deadly risk and often results in property damage to nearby homes or businesses. Driver fatigue truck accidents commonly result in the following collision types:

Head-on collisions can happen when a fatigued trucker drifts across the center line.
Rear-end collisions occur when the trucker fails to react or brake in time.
Sideswipe accidents occur when a truck veers into an adjacent lane without warning.
Rollover crashes can occur when a truck driver wakes up and abruptly steers to try to make a correction as they regain awareness of the situation.
Jackknife accidents could happen as truckers awaken and attempt to overcorrect or abruptly apply the brakes.
T-bone accidents happen when a drowsy tractor-trailer driver runs a stoplight or stop sign.
Underride accidents occur when a sudden, uncorrected stop causes a passenger vehicle to slide underneath the trailer.

If one of these accidents sounds like the crash that you were in, you may be able to file a personal injury claim to cover your injury-related expenses. To determine if you have what it takes to file a claim, contact our driver fatigue accident lawyers to discuss your situation. We will listen to your story and help you determine where the liability lies.

Catastrophic Injuries from Driver Fatigue Accidents

A fully loaded coal or logging truck weighs significantly more than a standard passenger vehicle. The immense size and momentum of commercial trucks mean that accidents often cause catastrophic injuries that frequently turn fatal, including:

Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) and paralysis
Severe burn injuries and crushing trauma
Loss of limbs and internal organ damage
Facial, head, and neck trauma
Nerve damage and permanent disability

Catastrophic injuries are associated with high medical costs and longer time in recovery, quickly adding up to a financial crisis for you and your family. At Warner Law Offices, PLLC, we calculate the maximum possible compensation for your current and future expenses to make sure that you are covered now and in the future.

Fatal Truck Accidents Caused by Driver Fatigue

If your loved one was injured and succumbed to those injuries later, or was immediately killed in an accident, you deserve compensation. While a settlement will never truly compensate for the loss of a loved one, it can help sustain you financially while you grieve and work to figure out the future. Contact a wrongful death lawyer to discuss what kind of compensation may be available to you in your wrongful death claim.

Available Damages in a Trucker Fatigue Accident Case

The legal damages sought after a major trucking accident typically include both quantifiable economic damages and non-quantifiable non-economic damages. Our Huntington truck driver fatigue lawyers will work tirelessly to help you understand the full and true value of your 18-wheeler accident case by reviewing your medical needs and the lasting impact on your life.

Economic Damages

Economic damages compensate you for quantifiable losses directly tied to financial amounts that are directly linked to the crash. These losses can include:

All past and future medical expenses
Lost wages and lost future earning capacity
Cost of vehicle repairs and property damage

Collect evidence for your economic damages with all documentation of your losses, such as receipts, bills, and repair estimates. Your driver fatigue accident attorney will help you with estimates on future costs, relying on expert testimony from doctors or other professionals to calculate more specialized losses.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages compensate you for non-quantifiable losses that are more subjective, but still affect you on a daily basis. These are often associated with how your quality of life was changed due to your injuries or trauma. They can include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of companionship.

Damages After a Fatal Trucker Fatigue Accident

If a fatal trucker fatigue collision has tragically claimed the life of a loved one, you have the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit. This legal action allows surviving family members to pursue compensation related to their profound loss, including pre-death medical costs, funeral and burial expenses, loss of companionship, and mental anguish.

Driver Fatigue Plays a Role in Other Kinds of Motor Vehicle Accidents

While we primarily focus on the widespread issue of driver fatigue in the commercial trucking industry, exhaustion can affect any motorist. This includes delivery drivers, rideshare drivers (Uber/Lyft), and even regular commuters.

If driver fatigue was a contributing factor in your crash, regardless of the vehicle type, you can depend on Warner Law Offices, PLLC for experienced legal help. We approach these non-trucking motor vehicle wrecks with the same level of rigorous investigation we apply to a complex tractor-trailer case.

Federal Regulations: Mandatory Rest Periods for Truckers

Due to the demanding nature of their profession, truckers are expected to handle long stretches on the road. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) maintains strict hours of service regulations for commercial truck drivers specifically to combat these dangerous situations. These regulations are vital for reducing the risk of truck drivers becoming overly exhausted and falling asleep at the wheel.

Drivers of commercial motor vehicles over 10,000 pounds must log their hours and adhere to limits that generally include:

Take a minimum 30-minute break within the first eight hours of driving.
Driving no more than 11 hours after taking 10 consecutive hours off duty.
Working no more than 60 hours in a seven-day period, or 70 hours in an eight-day period.

Major trucking companies often pressure drivers to violate federal regulations and work dangerously long hours to boost company profits. Since many carriers pay drivers by the mile, truckers often succumb to this pressure to increase their paycheck, foregoing necessary breaks, pre-trip checks, and other essential safety tasks. This dangerous industry pressure is a major contributor to tractor-trailer accidents caused by chronic driver fatigue.

What Time Limits Apply to a Semi-Truck Accident Claim?

In the state of West Virginia, most personal injury claims stemming from motor vehicle wrecks, including those involving semi-trucks, are governed by a two-year statute of limitations. After this two-year period has elapsed, accident survivors lose their legal right to pursue compensation through a lawsuit.

While the law grants you up to two years to file a civil suit after a severe crash, we strongly recommend contacting our experienced team of truck driver fatigue attorneys in Huntington as quickly as possible. We can immediately assess the viability of your big rig accident case and initiate the legal process to protect your claim.

Contact Our Truck Driver Fatigue Accident Attorneys in Huntington, WV

If you or a family member has suffered severe injuries because of a driver who was too tired to operate a vehicle safely, you need the legal team at Warner Law Offices, PLLC, on your side. To request a free, confidential case review with our team of experienced Huntington driver fatigue accident attorneys, contact our West Virginia law firm today.