Cases we handle
Elements Of A Tractor Trailor Accident
While all automobile accidents can cause serious property damage and bodily injury, automobile accidents involving a tractor-trailer are even more serious and sometimes deadly. Tractor-trailers, semi-trailers, and eighteen wheelers (18 wheelers), are all large and heavy vehicles, and due to their intense size and weight, such vehicles can cause more damage than typical automobiles.
Like other auto accident cases, an auto accident case involving a tractor-trailer is usually based on a theory of common law negligence. A common law claim of negligence has four key elements:
- Duty;
- Breach;
- Causation; and
- Damages
The element of DUTY considers the idea that we all must uphold a standard of care towards other people. For example,a driver of a tractor-trailer must act as a reasonable person with regard to other drivers on the road, as well as, obey the laws of the road as they apply to tractor-trailers or their drivers.
There is a BREACH of the driver’s duty when they fail to uphold their particular standard of care. With regard to the driver of a tractor-trailer, a breach would occur if the driver of a tractor-trailer fails to drive as a reasonable person or obey the laws of the road as they apply to tractor-trailers or their drivers.
If the driver of a tractor-trailer breaches their duty to either drive as a reasonable person or obey the relevant laws, a property negligence case must then connect the breach to the plaintiff’s damages. This connection is called CAUSATION, and North Carolina law differentiates between two types of causation, both of which must be proven. The first type of causation is called “actual causation,” and the second type of causation is called “proximate causation.” Actual causation can defined as “but for” causation; in other words, one must ask whether the plaintiff would have been injured but for the actions of the defendant. Proximate causation can be thought of as “foreseeability.” In other words, was if foreseeable that the actions of the defendant would cause the plaintiff’s damages.
After the first three elements are established (duty, breach, and causation), the final element that must be established in a claim of negligence are DAMAGES. There are several types of damages permitted in tractor-trailer accidents. Plaintiffs who bring tractor-trailer accidents can seek damages for property damage (i.e., the repairing of your damaged vehicle), lost wages, medical treatment, pain and suffering, and future medical expenses. Moreover, if a tractor-trailer accident results in a death, a claim for wrongful death may be pursued. By pursuing a claim for wrongful death, additional damages are available, such as funeral expenses, the income of the decedent, and other damages involving the lost companionship, assistance, and comfort now lost by the victim’s death.
TRACTOR-TRAILERS and the LAW
Tractor-trailers are bound by both state and federal laws. Like all motor vehicles in North Carolina, tractor-trailers are bound by North Carolina’s laws regarding motor vehicles and their drivers. The particular set of North Carolina statutes that control motor vehicles are found in Chapter 20 of the North Carolina General Statutes.
A few important North Carolina laws that apply to tractor-trailers include:
| Avoid Crossing Center Line | N.C.G.S. 20-148 |
| Determination of Weight | N.C.G.S. 20-88(a) |
| Drive on the Right Side of the Roadway | N.C.G.S. 20-146 |
| Following Too Closely | N.C.G.S. 20-152 |
| Impaired Driving In a Commercial Vehicle | N.C.G.S. 20-138 |
| Limitations of Tandem Trailers | N.C.G.S. 20-115.1 |
| No Stopping on a Highway | N.C.G.S. 20-161 |
| Overloaded Vehicle | N.C.G.S. 20-140.2 |
| Overtaking a Vehicle | N.C.G.S. 20-149-151 |
| Reckless Driving | N.C.G.S. 20-140 |
| Right of Way | N.C.G.S. 20-155 |
| Signals on Starting, Stopping or Turning | N.C.G.S. 20-154 |
| Size of Vehicles of Loads | N.C.G.S. 20-116 |
| Special Permits for Vehicles of Excessive Size | N.C.G.S. 20-119 |
| Speed Restrictions | N.C.G.S. 20-141 |
| Turning at Intersections | N.C.G.S. 20-153 |
| Vehicle Control Signs or Signals | N.C.G.S. 20-158 |
| Weight of Vehicles and Load | N.C.G.S. 20-118 |
A few important federal laws that apply to tractor-trailers include:
| Alcohol Prohibition | F.M.C.S.R. 392.5 |
| Drugs or Other Substances | F.M.C.S.R. 392.4 |
| Emergency Signals | F.M.C.S.R. 392.22-24 |
| Equipment Inspection and Use | F.M.C.S.R. 392.7 |
| Hazardous Driving Conditions | F.M.C.S.R. 392.14 |
| Highway-Rail Crossings | F.M.C.S.R. 392.12 |
| Ill or Fatigued Operator | F.M.C.S.R. 392.3 |
| Inspection of Cargo and Cargo Securement Devices | F.M.C.S.R. 392.9 |
| Prohibited Transportation | F.M.C.S.R. 392.9b |
| Railroad Grade Crossings | F.M.C.S.R. 392.10-11 |
| Schedules to Conform with Speed Limits | F.M.C.S.R. 392.6 |
| Texting While Driving | F.M.C.S.R. 392.80 |
| Using Hand-Held Mobile Telephone | F.M.C.S.R. 392.82 |
DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED
There are other significant factors that apply to automobile accidents involving tractor-trailers. For example, the intoxication of the driver is a very important fact for any automobile accident. However, in an auto accident involving a tractor-trailer, whether the driver of the tractor-trailer was intoxicated is even more important.
In North Carolina, the legal limit for ordinary motor vehicle drivers is a .08 blood alcohol content (“BAC”). This means that if an ordinary driver drives their motor vehicle with a .08blood alcohol content or greater, that driver is in violation and can be charged with Driving While Intoxicated (“DWI”). However, commercial drivers are subject to even stricter rules. A driver with a commercial driver’s license (“CDL”) can be charges with Driving While Intoxicated (“DWI”) if they are driving with a .04 blood alcohol content or greater. Moreover, a driver with a commercial driver’s license who has ANY alcohol in their system, even if it is less than .04, will be issued an “out-of-service” notice, which means they are not permitted to drive for the following 24 hours.
For more information, feel free to look through our North Carolina Personal Injury FAQs.
Call Kreger Law Firm at (888) 820-5885 to speak to a North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer today