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Semi-truck accidents are exceptionally dangerous events that can occur when drivers make even the smallest of mistakes. It is imperative that semi-truck drivers take every precaution to avoid making such mistakes and causing a dangerous accident. One of the most important precautions that are taken to help prevent these mistakes is the extensive training that semi-truck drivers are required to go through. Ensuring that semi-truck drivers are certified to drive tractor trailers is also a responsibility of the companies that employ them. By taking shortcuts and hiring unqualified drivers, trucking companies put many on the road at risk of being involved in a semi-truck accident.
Those that have been involved in accidents with semi-trucks will often experience significant damages and severe injury. These injured truck accident victims may be able to seek compensation for their injuries with a truck accident injury claim should the accident be caused by a truck driver that was unqualified. A trucking company can be liable in a truck accident claim if it can be proven that they knowingly hired a truck driver despite them being unqualified.
In order to become a semi-truck driver, a person must undergo training at a truck driver training school where they will receive hands on experience operating a commercial tractor-trailer in a safe environment and classes that prepare for certification tests. A truck driving school will usually follow what is known as the U.S. Department of Transportation Proposed Minimum Standards for Training Tractor Trailer Drivers. These standards require 150 hours of basic semi-truck training. They also require a 150-hour externship and 80 hours of advanced training. After drivers receive this training they will try to get certification via testing for a commercial drivers license (CDL).
In the state of Florida, a CDL driving test must be passed in which the driver completes a 2 part exam that includes a knowledge and skills test. Once the skills test has been passed, a driver can be issued a CDL license. A prospective truck driver can take both tests at either a Florida Department of Driver Services or approved 3rd party testing site
There are occasions where a trucking company may feel that it is necessary to take shortcuts when it comes to hiring drivers. Generally, this is considered negligent behavior and it will usually put people on the road at rick for a semi-truck accident. These shortcuts can actually take a variety of forms. For starters, many trucking companies do train their driver’s in-house and have their own education programs. Sometimes a driver may be fast tracked and not get the level of training that they should have.
The reason that this kind of negligence can occur changes from case to case but a major factor is the truck driver shortage that our country is facing right now. More than ever, trucking companies are struggling to find experienced drivers that can haul cargo to supply the massive demand that faces these companies. Some grow desperate and try to get as many drivers as possible on the road while sacrificing quality. They may choose to hire drivers that may not have the level of training that is needed to ensure maximum safety. In other instances drivers with histories indicating that they are unfit to work may slip through the cracks and end up on the road. A driver could have a history of alcohol or drug abuse. In some instances they may have a criminal history or even have caused accidents before. Each of these things can make a semi-truck driver a risk to other drivers on the road.
The best thing you can do when you are severely injured in a semi-truck accident is seek a lawyer experienced in semi-truck accident injury claims. You technically could pursue a claim on your own but the odds of you successfully navigating the many pitfalls of insurance tricks and legal process is greatly diminished. Insurance companies have everything they need to successfully deny a claim; as that is their goal since profits are their main priority. Insurance companies have the experience, personnel, resources, lawyers, and money to fight a claim to any extent necessary. If it turns into a “who can withstand the storm longer” type of situation, the answer will always be the insurance company when competing against an injured victim on their own.
It doesn’t cost you anything to get an injury attorney to look at your case. Likewise, truck accident lawyers don’t cost anything out of your pocket since they work on a contingency fee basis. This means they take a percentage of the settlement once the claim is seen through and don’t get paid at all if the injury victim doesn’t recover financial compensation. You or your loved one are likely significantly injured if you are even considering hiring a car accident attorney in the first place. So you should focus on your recovery while a professional works to maximize your settlement with the insurance companies and courts.
If you have been injured in a truck accident in the Stuart, Florida or Gainesville, Florida area, contact the experienced personal injury team at The Eberst Law Firm. We are ready to handle your case. You can contact us online or call us at 772-225-4900.
Stuart, Florida Office
101 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Stuart, FL 34994
Gainesville, Florida Office
716 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
With the advent of digital communications came a rapid evolution of telecommunication devices that have given us the smartphone. Now more than ever, people are connected to each other and various forms of media. Unfortunately, with technical innovation can come with some negative aspects as well. Many people behind the wheel end up texting and using smartphones for a plethora of other reasons when they should be paying attention to the road. Needless to say, this causes plenty of accidents that injure and even kill massive amounts of people every year.
Distracted driving is easily one of the most common reasons people are involved in car accidents and has only seemed to have gotten worse with time. People can be distracted while driving in a number of ways whether through conversation, eating, or trying to switch the music. Of all these forms of distraction, texting and driving has caused the most accidents and should be avoided at all cost.
Those that have been injured in distracted driving accidents can seek compensation for their injuries. By filing a claim, victims of reckless drivers that text and use smartphones while driving can hold those at fault for accidents accountable. By proving that a driver was distracted and caused the accident and by extension their injuries, a plaintiff can make a case for receiving a settlement that can help pay for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.
A simple definition of distracted driving is the operation of a vehicle while focus is placed on a different task. For example, eating while driving is considered distracted driving. The driver is attempting to eat while at the same time steer a vehicle and maintain awareness of the vehicles around them. Naturally, this results in a decrease in the efficiency and safety of that person’s driving since their focus is split therefore there are more chances for them to miss a car turning into their lane or the car in front of them slamming the brakes.
When it comes to something like texting and driving the distraction can be much worse. At least certain distracted driving behaviors still include a driver’s eyes on the road but texting will often require more of a driver’s cognitive and motor faculties. This means that drivers have their eyes off of the road when they text and drive and they have decreased physical ability to operate the vehicle with one hand occupied texting.
It is commonly known that even taking your eyes off the road for even a second while traveling at high speed can result in several feet traveled blindly where a lot can happen. If you’re driving at 55 miles an hour and you take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds then you will be travelling 80.7 feet a second. Multiplied by 5 that is 403 feet over several seconds. That is longer than an entire football field at 360 feet. The international space station coincidentally is about the same length at 356 feet. So essentially you’d be driving blind across the length of the largest manmade object in space. Some people claim that they can keep their eyes on the road by putting their phone up. This is ,of course, false since looking at a phone screen has been shown to reduce your field of view significantly and give what some call “tunnel vision”.
Texting and driving is bad enough but smartphone use in general is quickly becoming just as bad, if not worse. Social media is the biggest offender when it comes to the distraction of drivers due to smartphones. Snapchat, facebook, instagram, etc. all hold the attention of too many drivers that end up colliding with other vehicles, pedestrians, static objects, and more. Social media usage is only increasing as time goes on and sometimes demands more attention than simply texting. Motorists with smart phones use hand-held devices in 88 out of every 100 trips, according to data collected by Zendrive. A troubling statistic considering the level of risk it indicates.
Smartphone use while driving is considered a negligent behavior. If you can prove that someone was using their smartphone when they caused an accident with you then that can help your car accident claim greatly. Phone records or even just a visit to an at-fault driver’s social media pages is sometimes all it takes to show if they caused the accident because of smartphone use.
The best thing you can do when you are severely injured in a car accident is seek a lawyer experienced in car accident injury claims. You technically could pursue a claim on your own but the odds of you successfully navigating the many pitfalls of insurance tricks and legal process is greatly diminished. Insurance companies have everything they need to successfully deny a claim; as that is their goal since profits are their main priority. Insurance companies have the experience, personnel, resources, lawyers, and money to fight a claim to any extent necessary. If it turns into a “who can withstand the storm longer” type of situation, the answer will always be the insurance company when competing against an injured victim on their own.
It doesn’t cost you anything to get an injury attorney to look at your case. Likewise, car accident lawyers don’t cost anything out of your pocket since they work on a contingency fee basis. This means they take a percentage of the settlement once the claim is seen through and don’t get paid at all if the injury victim doesn’t recover financial compensation. You or your loved one are likely significantly injured if you are even considering hiring a car accident attorney in the first place. So you should focus on your recovery while a professional works to maximize your settlement with the insurance companies and courts.
If you have been injured in a car accident in the Stuart, Florida or Gainesville, Florida area, contact the experienced personal injury team at The Eberst Law Firm. We are ready to handle your case. You can contact us online or call us at 772-225-4900.
Stuart, Florida Office
101 SE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd
Stuart, FL 34994
Gainesville, Florida Office
716 E. University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
Sunny, sandy, and boasting some of the most beautiful beaches in the country, it is not difficult to see why Florida is a hotspot for vacationing Spring Breakers all over the world. However, this surge of many young vacationers who are feeling “young and wild and free” coupled with the potentially dangerous lifestyle choices that accompany this feeling undoubtedly contribute to an increase in the various types of accidents and injuries across Florida during Spring Break. We at the Eberst Law Firm advise you to exercise even greater caution in Florida and in any other Spring Break hotspot through late February until mid-April, which is the typical peak Spring Break season.
An article by Science Daily advises that “fatalities from car crashes are significantly higher during spring break weeks compared to other times of the year”. This study was performed by researchers at the University of Miami, and they analyzed fourteen popular spring break locations throughout the country, including locations in Florida. The eye-opening highlights of their study are as follows:
In order to protect yourself during Spring Break season, here are just a few of the many precautions you can follow: don’t drive while distracted, drive extra carefully when the weather is rainy and/or risky, use extra caution at red lights, and only drive when you are fully awake and alert.
At The Eberst Law Firm we understand that getting into an accident as you are trying to enjoy the beautiful Springtime weather is the last thing you had in mind, and we have all of the skills and expertise necessary to successfully handle your case while ensuring to obtain the best settlement possible.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee released an article stating that thousands of people flock to Florida beaches during Spring Break, and they are urging these vacationers to exercise caution during their stay. The article states that they have experienced many tragic boating accidents recently in southwest Florida, and they are aiming to inform both vacationers and residents about boating safety. Several boating safety tips are outlined on their website, and they advise that their top priority is to remind people to slow down in congested areas. Additionally, they recommend people always wear life jackets, maintain 360-degree awareness and become knowledgeable about the dangers/penalties for operating a vessel while impaired. The same article states, “Alcohol is a leading contributing factor in recreational boating deaths, and a major contributor to accidents. In 2017, out of the 67 fatal accident victims in Florida, 24 percent (16) were related to alcohol or drug use.”
As avid members of the boating community, we at The Eberst Law Firm are well versed in maritime law and understand the potentially dangerous conditions on both the docks and out on the water in a vessel.
Florida is arguably the most dangerous state in the entire nation to be both a bicyclist and a pedestrian. For this reason, it is extremely important to exercise caution as both a driver who is keeping a special eye out for bicyclists and pedestrians, and as a bicyclist or pedestrian who may have been engaging in drinking or other mind-altering activities prior to venturing onto roadways.
Please see our article titled, “Do people really share the road?” to learn more about the dangers of being a bicyclist or pedestrian in Florida.
Premises Liability Slip & Fall Accidents while on Spring Break
Hotels, motels, resorts, Airbnb’s, clubs, music venues- they all have an obligation to provide their business invitees with a safe establishment that is free from foreseeable dangers. Accidents can happen in an instant- all it takes is one beer that has been spilled by a patron, an unaware, inattentive business establishment that avoids cleaning the mess in a timely manner, and an innocent patron who slips and falls on the beer and fractures a body part.
At The Eberst Law Firm we have handled thousands of slip and fall cases, and we are prepared to gather the evidence needed in order to develop your slip and fall claim into a completely settled case that leaves you with just compensation for your injury.
We understand that Spring Break is a time of joy and excitement, not only for vacationers, but for Floridians who have long awaited the beautiful spring weather. Consult with us at The Eberst Law Firm regarding your accident or injury so that we can handle the challenges that come along with pursuing an auto accident or premises liability claim so that you can focus on your healing. We will handle evaluating your claim, performing any necessary research, communicating with the insurance company, and securing the best settlement possible for you. You can contact us online or by calling us at 772-225-4900. We look forward to hearing from you.