Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP - Truck Accident Attorneys

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STEVEN GORDON: I've been asked to speak about improper loading or stacking of the cargo. This is a problem that is--happens quite a bit. There are various kids of loads. There are pipes, there are boxes, containers, fluids, so obviously in each given instance of what the load is you have to look at was it improperly loaded or maintained or latched, lashed down.

Load issues can actually be dangerous for the trucker as well. There was a trucker out in California recently killed because he had to stop and the load shifted and came right through the cab and killed him.

So, so it--what you need to understand here when a load issue is a cause of an accident, it's not just the trucker and the truck company, but it's the loading company who loaded this that also could be sued and should be sued. So you have more defendants to understand so the jury can assess the fault where it lies.

But loading and improper loading causes many different accidents. For instance, a trucker when he's turning, it shifts, causes the truck to turn over and lands on somebody. This is oftentimes and accident.

Improper lashing down of loads can cause you losing a load. We've all seen on the interstate where when you're driving along all of the sudden, you know, something is right there and it causes an accident. That's the fault of the trucker and the truck company and the loading company.

So improper loading is, is quite an extensive--causes quite of an extensive array of accidents. And your truck accident lawyer needs to understand this and assess the situation properly.

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STEVEN GORDON: Truck company negligence to me is, I don't know, I, I think it's sort of an interesting area because here you've got a company that knows it's going to be employing drivers to go out on the road and potentially kill somebody. So what standards does that company follow in hiring the truck drivers?

And we know that sleep apnea is a big issue in our society and people don't get good quality REM sleep. Conversely, the truck driver should not drive fatigued. So I have a question for you, should that truck company assess that truck driver's medical records to see if he has sleep apnea? Should they do that? And if they don't do that and they hire a driver and then he has an accident because of fatigue, are they negligent for not doing so? I say yes.

And so, a truck company needs to have in place a set policy to review its drivers. They should assess their medical records. They should assess their driving history. And in my opinion, they should make the driver swear under oath that they don't have certain tickets because what a driver will do sometimes, they'll get a ticket, they'll pay it and ask for deferred adjudication so it doesn't show up on their record. So just running a Motor Vehicle report on them may not be enough. I think they should submit under perjury that they don't have any tickets.

So medical records, driving history, social history, work history, and they should have this policy in force. And then finally, of course, they should go on a very decent check run with the driver. That's one area of company negligence.

The other area of company negligence is their maintenance policy on the trucks. If a truck drives a certain amount of miles, can it go over those miles with, without having the brakes checked or the fluids checked? Is that something that is a requirement?

In addition to these matters and in addition to their maintenance program, the other is record keeping. Do they require their truck drivers to turn in their driving records? And do they keep them and do they make sure that there's no falsification of them?

Sometimes a truck company or, or any type of company will turn its eye to reality. They'll know that the driver is driving more hours than they should but they don't say anything because it's a productive driver. Well when that driver, that productive driver has an accident and injures or kills someone, that company should be held liable.

[GRAPHIC: If you have suffered a VERY serious injury or the death of someone you love, you may not want to watch this. Not because of the graphics but that it could be emotionally disturbing. However, because your loss is so important and because what lawyer you choose is so very important, you need to know exactly how your case and loss will be handled by Gordon and Elias, L.L.P. There are other videos that are available on this page that are not as emotionally charged.]

NARRATOR: If you have suffered a very serious injury or the death of someone you love, you may not want to watch this. Not because of the graphics but that it could be emotionally disturbing. However, because your loss is so important and because what lawyer you choose is so very important, you need to know exactly how your case and loss will be handled by Gordon and Elias LLP. There are other videos that are available on this page that are not as emotionally charged.

[GRAPHIC: The following reenactment happens everyday somewhere in the United States]

FEMALE VOICE: Mom, thank you so much. Everything was just delicious.

MALE VOICE: You know, you really have to come more often.

FEMALE VOICE: It has been too long, hasn't it?

MALE VOICE 1: So, are you ready to go?

FEMALE VOICE: Yeah, we really should be hitting the road.

FEMALE VOICE 1: Oh, so soon?

FEMALE VOICE: Yeah, she's got a ballet lesson, so my little ballerina.

FEMALE VOICE 2: Yeah.

FEMALE VOICE: Watch the truck.

[GRAPHIC: Emergency]

STEVE GORDON: Being involved in a truck accident is a serious and life-changing event. My name is Steve Gordon and I'm with the law firm of Gordon and Elias. If in your accident there was a serious injury or death, you will need competent legal representation. You will need experienced truck accident lawyers to represent you.

One aspect of truck accident representation is getting the person the right medical care that they need. Depending upon the injury is depending upon what type of medical expert you need to treat you. At Gordon and Elias, we make sure that this occurs.

If in your accident a spouse has been killed, the grieving process will take years and years to get over. The additional problem is the economic hardship that is created in the short term that is while your case is pending, and then of course in the long term after your case is resolved. At Gordon and Elias, we are keenly aware of these problems and we deal with them with you. When you come to Gordon and Elias, we will literally get to know you personally and your family personally.

The process of litigation takes time and in that process we literally become friends, not just your lawyers. So anticipate with Gordon and Elias not just getting good representation, but actually getting almost an extension of your family.

Not every case goes to trial but some cases do. At Gordon and Elias there is 40 years of combined trial experience available to you. The best experts are utilized, the best doctors and the case is presented using the best electronic means and sometimes just a good old fashioned poster board will do.

The point is that the trial will be presented in a way that is most professional but really brought down to where the juror understands the grief, the pain, the sadness that you've experienced. Because at the end, they're going to be asked to award monetary damages. And we don't want them to be shy when they do that.

We wish you had not gone through what you had to go through in order to end up contacting us, but you have.
[GRAPHIC: Circuit Court]

STEVE GORDON: And the law allows in every state you to recover money. That's what we do. And we want to get you the most money possible. So in the end, when all is said and done, you can take that money and go and live your life the best you can, even if somebody's no longer in your life. They would have wanted that for you. So you need to hire lawyers that are going to do just that. And at Gordon and Elias, we pledge to you to do that.

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STEVEN GORDON: Driver fatigue is a pet issue of mine because I believe a truck driver is kind of in a--what I call between a rock and a hard place. He or she--I'm just going to say he if you don't mind. He has got to make his route. He's got to make his deliveries on time. He's got to get from Point A to Point B. And the company expects him to do it in a certain time.

Now there are federal regulations you can read on our site which govern how much time a trucker can, can drive. A long haul trucker has a cab in the back and they are supposed to, after a certain amount of hours, get off duty rest and sleep. Now, more, more times than you can even imagine, the trucker has driven more than he should and that his fatigue has caused his responses to be slow. And when that happens, there are people that are injured and worse yet killed.

I, I think a trucker is an expert. They have a commercial driver's license. This is the field they have chosen to do for their career. They have a duty, being an expert, to do their job right, just like a lawyer. We can't take a case and just halfway work on it or do it a little bit, and a trucker shouldn't either. So when a driver has driver fatigue and that causes an accident, the depositions of that trucker don't--they're not pretty.

And there are driver's logs that you can look at. And some drivers even go as far as to falsify those logs. And when that happens, that is not only a crime, but it upsets a jury very much and high awards are seen in driver falsification log issues cases.

So you have two things. You have the trucking company making these unreasonable demands on the truck driver. And you have the truck driver instead of saying, hey wait, I cannot do it within this time frame because the law requires me to get rest. You have the truck driver making the second mistake and then you have the accident. So clearly when it's driver fatigue issues, the trucking company and the driver are usually at fault.

STEVEN GORDON: A trucker being an expert has a duty I think to, of course, follow the law, but also drive their vehicle in a manner that's not going to cause either a contact with their truck or cause somebody else to have an accident with somebody else.

Inattentive or, or aggressive driving is something we do see. Usually we see it in, in major metropolitan areas where there is just a lot of traffic and people are trying to get from point A to point B. Usually aggressive lane changing and stuff does occur.

However, they are the expert and failing to drive their vehicle in a reasonable, ordinary prudent manner equates to negligence. And since they are in the course and scope of employment, if they are negligent, then their employer is also responsible.

And I want you to understand one thing. Speeding doesn't necessarily have to be speeding over the limit. If it-the speed limit for instance is 60 miles per hour, but it's raining cats and dogs, if that trucker is doing 60 miles per hour, he's not speeding under the speed limit, but he's going too fast for under the circumstances. And that can be a ground of negligence.

In some moments, because of the weather conditions or the road conditions, let's say it's a work zone or something like that, you have to slow down. You can't do the speed limit.