Nationwide Truck Accident Attorneys

Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP - Truck Accident Attorneys

601 Carlson Parkway
Suite 995
Minnetonka, Minnesota 55305
USA

(800) 773-6770

www.truckaccidentlaw.org

Contact Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP - Truck Accident Attorneys

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Law Firm Overview FREE CONSULTATION

Gordon & Elias, LLP is dedicated to providing quality client service and sound legal advice to clients throughout the United States. Our focus is accessibility to clients, and we will work closely with you to develop practical legal solutions designed to meet your unique legal needs.

We offer a free initial consultation and all truck accident claims are taken on a contingency basis. In other words, you don't pay us until you receive compensation. In states where the law allows, we front money to clients, at no interest for them, to cover their bills. Simply put, you have nothing to lose.

People across the United States have come to Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. following a serious truck accident caused by a truck driver's fatigue, abuse of drugs or aggressive driving. We have almost 40 years of combined experience, and work with the accident victims to ensure that their rights are protected and they recover the compensation they and their family members need.

Areas of Law

Additional Areas of Law: Truck Driver Fatigue; Tire Blowout Accident; Tread Separated Accident; Aggressive & Unsafe Lane Changing; Rear-End Truck Auto Accidents; Improper Reflector & Visibility Truck Accidents; Underride" Truck Auto Accidents; Head-On Truck Auto Accidents; Jackknife Truck Auto Accident; Brake Failure Truck Auto Accident; Unsecured Loads; Defective & Dangerous Road Accident; Poor Truck Maintenance.

Areas of Law Description

- Truck Driver Fatigue

Driver fatigue and drowsiness are conditions that result in reckless behavior such as failure to keep in the proper lane and running off the road. Tired truckers are of such concern that in April of 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) instituted new hours of service regulations to curb truckers' problems with fatigue. While these laws have helped reduce the number of accidents, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board still blames driver fatigue as a probable factor in 20-40% of truck crashes.

- Tire Blowout Accident

Sudden tire failure can mean losing control of the vehicle and even a rollover. Defective tires or tires which are not adequate for the vehicle on which they are installed, can blow out with no warning and after very little mileage, even though they appear to be new and in good condition. Even rim condition can cause a blow out and truckers are notorious for running on bent rims after going through tire after tire without any concern for the rims.

- Tread Separated Accident

Tread separation is a very common cause of blowouts in tires which appear to be in good condition. In steel belted radials, the rubber and the steel must be bonded together. Failure in this bond allows the tire to come apart. Tread separation occurs most often at high speeds and in hot temperatures. Firestone ATX and Wilderness tires, used primarily in Ford SUV's, were recalled in August, 2000, due to problems with tread separation, and other brands, used primarily on SUVs, RVs, and large passenger vans have been recalled for the same defect.

- Aggressive & Unsafe Lane Changing

No one questions the pressure that truck drivers feel to deliver on time. However, when that pressure takes the form of aggressive driving tactics, you and other drivers on the road could suffer serious injury. At the Houston-based law firm of Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P., our job is to advocate for you and hold the negligent party responsible for your damages.

- DUI DWI Accident

When a truck driver impaired by drugs or alcohol makes the decision to get behind the wheel of their semi tractor-trailer, any driver traveling near them is at risk for injury or death. The power and sheer force of a speeding, 18-wheel truck is a dangerous weapon that could forever change your life.

- Improper Reflector & Visibility Truck Accidents

When a truck stalls on the side of the road, proper reflection will prevent a collision with a moving car. The federal requirements for reflectors involve a certain thickness of the tape and number of reflectors on the truck itself. Even if a truck abides by the law, reflectors and reflective tape can become dirty and impossible to see, resulting in a serious accident.

- Rear-End Truck Auto Accidents

The tremendous difference in size and weight between trucks or 18 wheelers and automobiles often result in death or permanent and serious personal injuries. A big rig usually weighs in excess of 80,000 pounds and the tractor trailer combination may be over 70 feet long, therefore, its stopping distance takes far longer than a car. Too often, catastrophic and fatal rear-end truck accidents are caused by the negligence of the truck driver.

- Head-On Truck Auto Accidents

The most destructive auto truck collision is a head-on truck accident due the mass and momentum. Often, if death does not occur, brain injuries, paralysis, paraplegics and quadriplegics and burn victims are left to live their life constantly fighting to live every day. The law firm of Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. have only experienced truck auto accident attorneys that employ the best experts to reconstruct the accident and explain the actual internal trauma that takes place inside the human body when the passengers are involved in a deadly head-on collision.

- "Underride" Truck Auto Accidents

Accidents involving "Big Rig" Tractor Trailer trucks often involve a greater risk of injury in that the body of the trailer sits higher than an average passenger vehicle, causing a likelihood of "underride". An "underride" collision involves the lower passenger vehicle (usually the front) traveling under the higher body of the trailer (usually the rear), causing the trailer to intrude into the occupant compartment of the lower passenger vehicle causing injury to those inside. These injuries include closed head injury, open head injury, brain injury and, sometimes, decapitation.

- Jackknife Truck Auto Accident

Jackknife accidents are most commonly caused by the sudden application of the brakes in a tractor-trailer. In some cases, though, improperly adjusted brakes can cause jackknife accidents. Improperly adjusted brakes and brake failure in trucks are one of the top reasons for truck accidents on the US roadways. Loss of pedal pressure is among the most common symptoms of brake failure. In fact, any time the angle of articulation between the centerline of the tractor and semi-trailer exceeds fifteen degrees, the truck will jackknife and potentially cause an accident.

- Brake Failure Truck Auto Accident

Poorly maintained truck brakes are the single greatest factor contributing to truck accidents, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). More than 29 percent of truck accidents in the study involved brake failure, brakes out of adjustment, worn brake components, or other problems with the truck brakes.

- Unsecured Loads

Traveling down a highway with other drivers is sometimes challenging enough. You should not have to dodge rocks and other debris coming from a truck carrying too much of a load that is not secure. Sometimes that "falling debris" takes the form of larger items that can do significant damage to your car or crash through your windshield, seriously injuring you and others.

- Defective & Dangerous Road Accident

Road conditions contribute to more than half of all deaths in vehicular crashes nationally - more than drunken driving, speeding or nonuse of seatbelts - according to a study commissioned by an industry group that advocates for boosting spending on road construction. More than half of U.S. highway fatalities are related to deficient roadway conditions - a substantially more lethal factor than drunk driving, speeding or non-use of safety belts - according to a landmark study released on July 1, 2009. Ten roadway-related crashes occur every minute (5.3 million a year) and also contribute to 38 percent of non-fatal injuries the report found.

- Poor Truck Maintenance

The failure to maintain the cab, trailer, hydraulic brakes, air brakes or tires of a tractor-trailer rig can often result in truck accidents. The negligence to properly maintain a tractor-trailer, or 18-wheeler, can be the responsibility of the trucking company, a maintenance contractor, or the driver himself. Inadequate or negligent maintenance procedures can only be found by experienced truck automobile accident attorneys. You need a truck automobile accident law firm who will work closely with experienced accident reconstruction experts that understand maintenance issues in an 18-wheeler accident.