Oregon Semi-Truck Accident Attorneys

Oregon Semi-Truck Accident Lawyers Exemplary Legal Representation

What Is at Stake in a Semi-Truck Lawsuit?

The compassionate team of attorneys at Dwyer Williams Potter, LLP know the pain, financial pressure and extreme distress that frequently results when you or someone you love is involved in a semi-truck accident in Portland or anywhere throughout the state of Oregon.  Semi-trucks are unquestionably the most dangerous motor vehicles that occupy the highways of Oregon.  The aftermath of a Oregon trucking accident often entails excruciating pain, weeks or month of grueling physical therapy, astronomical medical expenses and permanent changes in your ability to enjoy the simple pleasures of a walk with your spouse through the woods or playing baseball with your child in the park.  Many victims of semi-truck accidents in Oregon are never able to work again.

At Dwyer, William, Potter, LLP, we understand the devastating consequences of being seriously injured in a commercial trucking accident.  Our compassionate and dedicated legal team will meticulously investigate the circumstances surrounding your accident, engage in hard-nosed negotiation with any insurance companies and passionately and zealously advocate on behalf of your best interest in court.  Our job is to ease your road to recovery and help you obtain the financial compensation that you need to recover, rebuild your life and move past this tragic accident.

Why Are Semi-Truck Accident Lawsuits Unique?

A semi-truck crash is not just a “motor vehicle accident with bigger vehicles”.  This type of collision involves complex and highly specialized litigation requiring the following:

• Thorough understanding of the complex regulations that govern the commercial trucking industry
• Awareness of unethical industry practices including destroying and altering critical evidence
• Access to trucking accident experts who can quickly be dispatched to the scene of a semi-truck accident
• Many years of experience and specialized training in handling commercial trucking accidents
• Intimate familiarity with trucking industry customs and practices

A cursory review of the statistical data available regarding trucking accidents provides a clear picture of why semi-truck crash litigation is unique.  Semi-truck accidents account for 12 percent of all motor vehicle fatalities with the occupant of the other vehicle being killed in about 98 percent of those cases.  Any claim that commercial trucking accidents in Oregon are deadly is a drastic understatement.  The primary reason for this deadly and unbalanced outcome in semi-truck accidents is the massive weight and size differential between an 80,000 pounds fully loaded semi-truck and a 3,000 pound passenger vehicle.  At Dwyer, Williams, Potter, LLP, we have represented hundreds of individuals who have been seriously injured in accidents with semi-trucks.  If you have been seriously injured or a loved one has been killed in a semi-truck accident, our experienced Oregon trucking accident attorneys are prepared to fight for the compensation you need to recover and provide for your family.

Common Causes of Oregon Semi-Truck Accidents

There are many different causes of semi-truck accidents including but not limited to the following:

• Driver fatigue
• Overloaded trucks
• Negligently designed or maintained highways
• Inattentive semi-truck drivers
• Improperly loaded trucks
• Inexperienced drivers
• Lack of maintenance
• Intoxicated truck drivers
• Defective parts
• Failing to respect weather and traffic conditions

As is the case in any type of motor vehicle accident, it will be necessary to prove negligence on the part of the semi-truck driver and or trucking company.  However, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and state law heavily regulates the trucking industry.  A violation of these regulations can constitute negligence so it is critical that you work with an Oregon semi-truck accident law firm, rather than a law firm that occasionally handles a trucking accident.

The Problem of Disappearing Evidence in Semi-Truck Accident Cases

These cases can be complex because critical evidence often conveniently “disappears”.  Trucking companies have been known to send their investigators and experts to the scene of a semi-truck accident within minutes of a collision.  The big-rig truck can be moved or evidence at the scene can be altered which may make it harder to prove what caused the semi-truck accident.  When you are involved in a semi-truck accident it is important to contact an experienced Oregon semi-truck accident lawyer immediately so that this crucial evidence can be preserved.  At Dwyer, Williams, Potter, LLP, we have our own team of investigators and experts that we can dispatch to an accident scene so that we can gather the evidence we need to reconstruct the accident and build your case.

Other evidence that can be tampered with is the “logbook” of a driver or the on-board data recorder.  These logbooks are maintained by drivers to record the number of hours they have been on the road and compliance with mandatory rest period requirements.  These logbooks are routinely manipulated or altered.  There are specific “hours of service” regulations that a driver is not supposed to violate that require the driver to rest for mandated periods of time.  A truck driver’s violation of these rules may be important to establishing negligence and proving that driver fatigue was a cause of the semi-truck collision.  Unfortunately drivers abuse these rules all the time to increase their earnings.  In the name of profit, trucking companies often look the other way or encourage this practice. This results in many overly fatigued semi-truck drivers on the road, and fatigue is the cause of many semi-truck accidents in Oregon and throughout the U.S.  Data from the truck’s on-board data recorder also may provide valuable information regarding hours of service, sudden braking, maintenance issues and more.  This data will typically be erased unless your Oregon semi-truck accident lawyer takes immediate steps to put the trucking company on notice that the data must be preserved.

When you are a victim in a semi-truck accident it is important that you have a team of insurance adjusters, investigators, and semi-truck accident attorneys looking out for your best interests. Trucking companies have enormous resources and experts at their disposal. The attorneys on our team here at Dwyer, Williams, Potter, LLP have extensive knowledge and experience regarding trucking regulations, trucking industry practices and trucking litigation defense strategies.

Types of Damages for Catastrophic Injuries Suffered in a Semi-Truck Accident

The injuries that the victim of a semi-truck accident typically suffers can have a significant impact on the rest of one’s life.  Tractor-trailer accidents in Portland and on highways throughout Oregon often result in fatalities or catastrophic injuries including the following:

• Head and Neck Injuries
• Serious Brain Injury
• Permanent Debilitating Spinal Cord Damages
• Loss of Function of Internal Organs
• Compound fractures and crushed bones

The medical and other economic costs of these types of injuries can easily exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in financial loss not to mention the physical and emotional toll.  Dwyer, Williams, Potter, LLP may seek to compensate you for the full measure of your loss including lost earnings, life-long medical care and support, permanent disability from employment, substantially impaired quality of life, pain and suffering and loss of services or support of a spouse.

Our law firm handles semi-trucking accident throughout the state of Oregon and has physical offices in Bend, Eugene, Grants Pass, Medford, Portland, and Roseburg.  These offices allow us to meet with you personally and discuss your options and developments in your case.  We pride ourselves on maintaining these types of personal relationships and consistent communication with our clients.