Phoenix Personal Injury Lawyer Speaks About New Trucking Company Regulations
Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) July 09, 2013 -- Phoenix personal injury lawyer Jeffery J. Hernandez said recent changes to trucking company regulations might help curb fatal trucking accidents in Arizona.
In a July 1 statement titled “New Hours-of-Service Safety Regulations to Reduce Truck Driver Fatigue Begin Today,” the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that new federal safety regulations had been enacted to prevent serious truck accidents.
“It’s the responsibility of trucking companies to regulate the amount of hours their employees work. When they fail to do so, they should be penalized. Fatigued truck drivers present a serious and immediate danger to all others on the road,” said Hernandez, who represents individuals seriously injured in accidents as well as families who have lost loved ones in accidents. “The implementation of the new hours-of-service safety regulations is a step in the right direction. We hope to see fewer truck accident fatalities in Arizona and across the nation.”
According to the statement from the Department of Transportation, the average work week for a truck driver will be shortened to 70 hours from 82 hours. A half hour break will be required within the first eight hours of any given shift. Drivers are limited to 14 hour work days, 11 hours of which can be spent driving.
In addition, the Department of Transportation statement contends that when a trucking company or driver fails to follow these new standards, they could face strict penalties. This could potentially include an $11,000 fine per offense to a trucking company who allows drivers to exceed driving limits over 3 hours, and a civil penalty of up to $2,750 to a truck driver who ignores these government-mandated regulations.
When trucking companies and their drivers don’t follow these regulations, serious accidents could easily occur, according to Hernandez. The Arizona truck accident lawyer attributed the cause of many truck accidents to driver fatigue, leading to a serious rollover accident, rear-end accident, or head-on collision.
“These cases might call for a lawsuit if the trucking company or driver willingly ignored safety regulations,” Hernandez said. “If necessary, an experienced personal injury lawyer in Phoenix can investigate into trucking companies, analyze police and medical records, interview witnesses, and visit the scene of the accident with an accident reconstruction team to help determine the cause.”
About the Law Office of Jeffery J. Hernandez
Jeffery J. Hernandez has been practicing law in Arizona for over 20 years after having obtained his Juris Doctor degree from Arizona State University in 1992. His practice is focused on serving personal injury victims, as well as serving the needs of small to medium-sized businesses across the state. Having previously worked as a hands-on insurance claims adjuster for seven years, Hernandez possesses extensive knowledge on how insurance companies work and the tactics they may use to try and reduce the value of personal injury claims.
If you’ve been injured as a result of a trucking accident in Arizona, call (480) 624-2765 for a free case consultation or visit http://www.arizonalawonline.com/ for more details.
The Law Office of Jeffery J. Hernandez is located at:
7047 E. Greenway Parkway
Suite 140
Scottsdale, AZ, 85254
Jacob M Del Hagen, Big Voodoo Interactive, http://www.bigvoodoo.com, 888.566.5466, [email protected]
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