Colorado commercial drivers must comply with DOT regulations. These regulations require them to follow hours of service guidelines. These guidelines prevent an accident due to fatigue. Truck accident lawyers in Fort Collins fight to enforce these guidelines after victims become injured in a trucking accident.
What Are the Hours of Service?
All trucks must stop and rest after every eight hours of driving. They are restricted to eleven hours of driving each day and they are required to enter this information in their logbooks. After an accident, law enforcement must review these entries to validate compliance.
Identifying the Reason for the Accident
Law enforcement must investigate the accident fully. They must identify an exact cause for the accident. For truckers, this could be fatigue, intoxication, or faulty equipment. The reason for the accident designates how the victim must proceed. For example, if the truck driver caused the accident by their actions, the victim should file a lawsuit based on auto accident guidelines. If they identify faulty equipment or auto parts, the victim should file a product’s liability claim against the manufacturer.
Criminal Causes and Penalties
DUI is the most common criminal infraction associated with trucking accidents. However, controlled substances such as illegal or prescription drugs could play a role. The intoxication level and the identified substance determines the criminal penalty assigned. When this is the cause of the accident, the truck driver faces a civil penalty.
The victim files a civil lawsuit based on the severity of their injuries. The claim is initiated after the insurance provider fails to provide compensation. They’ll need records of their medical expenses and property damage. The value of these expenses equates to the required award. However, tort rulings allow the victim to seek compensation for pain and suffering.
Colorado accident victims must file an initial claim through the trucker’s insurance policy. The unfortunate realization is that they may try to avoid a payout. When the defendant is a large trucking company, this is a higher probability. For this reason, the victim must file a claim quickly. Victims who need to hire truck accident lawyers in Fort Collins should click here for more information.
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