How Do Sleepy Truck Drivers Directly and Indirectly Cause Car Crashes?
Since the coronavirus pandemic, federal regulators have repeatedly watered down HOS (Hours of Service) rules, allowing truck drivers to stay on the road much longer than before. These regulatory changes have also created an environment that encourages bureaucrats to not look very closely at truckers with medical conditions that could cause serious fatigue.
Fatigue is much more than feeling sleepy. Fatigue impairs judgement abilities and motor skills. The brain and body both work more slowly. These symptoms resemble alcohol intoxication symptoms. In fact, driving after eighteen consecutive awake hours is like driving with a .05 BAC level. That’s above the legal limit for commercial drivers in Virginia.
Because of these effects, fatigue clearly breaches the duty of care that truck drivers have to avoid accidents. So, a Leesburg personal injury lawyer can obtain substantial compensation for these victims. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages may be available, as well, in some extreme situations.
Asleep at the Wheel Truck Drivers
Many of these truckers are asleep with their eyes open. Their minds and bodies react so slowly that they might as well be completely asleep.
To establish extreme fatigue behind the wheel, a Leesburg personal injury lawyer often uses circumstantial evidence, such as:
- Time of day or night (many people are naturally fatigued early in the morning and late at night),
- Erratic driving prior to the wreck,
- Tortfeasor’s (negligent driver’s) inability to remember the last few highway exits or miles traveled,
- Dash cam footage that shows the driver nodding off, and
- Prior fatigued driving incidents that establish a pattern or refute a driver’s claim s/he was awake.
Generally, the shipping or transportation company that owned the truck or cargo is financially responsible for damages in these cases. The respondeat superior rule states that employers are financially responsible for their employees’ negligence, if that negligence occurred during the course and scope of employment.
Respondeat superior is a two-edged sword. It gives victims access to an additional source of recovery they often need badly, due to the catastrophic nature of many truck crash injuries. However, respondeat superior also adds another layer to an already complex case, underscoring the need for a very good Leesburg personal injury lawyer in these matters.
Fatigue-Related Drug Use
To ward off the effects of fatigue, many truck drivers use amphetamines. These drugs often help a little in the short term because they make drivers feel more alert. However, these drugs don’t address judgment issues and the other underlying effects of fatigue.
In fact, if anything, amphetamines make these issues worse. These drugs often make users edgy and suspicious. Furthermore, when amphetamines wear off, users often crash fast and hard.
If the truck driver went to the hospital following an accident, medical staffers usually extract blood samples. In other situations, a lawyer must use circumstantial evidence, like pill bottles in a truck, to establish drug use.
Truck Driver Medical Conditions
Sometimes, truck driver fatigue issues begin before the driver gets behind the wheel. Mostly because they sit so much, many truckers have sleep apnea issues. These individuals don’t get much, if any, REM sleep at night. Sleep apnea is worse if the individual sleeps in a berth or someplace other than a bed.
Circumstantial evidence of sleep apnea, such as the purchase or use of a CPAP machine, is admissible on this point. So is medical evidence.
The burden of proof in a civil case is only a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not). So, a little evidence goes a long way.
Work With a Dedicated Loudoun County Lawyer
Sleepy drivers often cause serious injuries. For a confidential consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer in Leesburg, contact Simms Showers, LLP, Attorneys at Law. The sooner you reach out to us, the sooner we start working for you.
Source:
osha.gov/motor-vehicle-safety/drowsy-driving
